My rat has a bloody nose!
Although it looks like blood, don’t worry–it’s just tears. It’s called porphyrin. Rats have a large glad behind their eyes that produce it, and because the eyes are connected to the nose, you’ll often find it caked around their eyes and nose. Many first-time rat owners see this are concerned that their rat has a bloody nose.
Why does it happen? Porphyrin may show up when a rat is stressed, but it’s also a sign of a respiratory infection. You might want to get your rat checked out by a vet, especially if she’s sneezing or showing any other signs of a respiratory infection.
For more scientific information about porphyrin, check out the links page under “health problems.”
on March 25th, 2006 at 8:51 am
i have onlt had my little 5 month old rat, willow, for 3 days and she has been sneezing all the time i’ve had her. Once when she sneezed there was a little blood spekkle on her bedding! OH NO! she is the first rat any of my family has owned, so none of us know what to expect. Should i take her to the vet?
on May 21st, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Hey vivien,
my rat hugs had the same problem he was sneezing red stuff It’s not blood I took hugs to the vet its not blood your rat is just getting used to its surroundings!
on December 23rd, 2006 at 5:16 am
my rat has been havin bloody stuff round his nose and he is also most of the time snezzing but if ti is an respiratory infection i thnk it might be from when my couzin had him becuz he didnt look after him and the other 3 rats they were in a very dirty cage that basicly never got cleaned and my rats mum and sisters died od dehidration ithnk cuz my cuzin never put water in their cage and i was thinking mabey that is why he has been snezzing if you have any more info can you please email me at tic-tac_2@hotmail.com