My rats eyes

Question
Lately I have noticed that when my rat wakes up she has "red eye boogers" so to speak. I am just wondering what that means. She doesn't seem sick. Why does she get them? Also, what temperature should I keep the room at that her cage is in? I often worry that she may get to hot or to cold.

Answer
The substance around your girls eyes is called porphorin.  Some rats always have a little porporin around their eyes upon waking up, and others never do.  If she is only showing it upon waking and it is consistent, I wouldn't worry about it.

In some cases, the appearance of porphorin around the eyes and sometimes nose is a sign of stress or illness or both.  If your rat is ill, often porphorin is the first sign with no other symptoms, as rats are inherently good at hiding pain and illness, as they are prey animals.

But like I said, if this is only upon waking and consistent and you see no other signs such as change in appetite or energy, there is nothing to worry about.