[Rat_Fink]

My rat gets regular nose bleeds, i'm going to book an appointment at the vets soon, but I thought I might as well get some insight on this board as well.

She also has scabby eye's. I've read that that's linked to respitory infections, but i've listened to her lungs with a stethoscope and I don't hear any wheezing or anything irregular. Can scabby eye's be related to anything else?

 

[Stephanie]

is it blood or is it porphrin? if it is porphrin try steaming her (sitting in the bathroom with the hot water running for fifteen minutes) she will probably sneeze a whole lot but it might help get whatever irratant out what kind of bedding is she on?

 

[lilspaz68]

Does your rat look like this with the crusty red eyes as well?

Rats regularly exude porphyrin (red fluid), but normally clean it up once they wake up and it should be gone for the day. If it stays and there is a lot, then its an indicator that something is wrong, whether it be stress(just moved to a new environment, cat visiting and sitting on the cage, etc) , or illness. An ill rat wont' be able to keep up with the porphryin production or may not feel well enough to clean.

If there's no lung sounds, and after her vet visit (hopefully you get antibiotics) it could be environmental.

What bedding do you use?

 

[Rat_Fink]

Yes she looks like that, exactly like that. They normally go away towards the afternoon, it just seems like a morning thing. I'll check with the vet just to make sure though.

I don't use bedding, I use sheets which I wash in sensitive skin detergant with no fragrances. I'll also dump some vinegar or baking soda in the rinse cycle just to make sure all soap residue is gone.

 

[Night]

A little bit of porphyrin after waking up from a nap or something is normal, and it's usually groomed away pretty much immediately. If the porphyrin sticks around for a while and it's becoming a daily thing, I'd be a little bit concerned and my first thought would be an upper respiratory infection. Though, is your house on the colder side? Sometimes chilly weather can cause some porphyrin to pop up.