Question about hairless rats eyes and sneezing

Question
QUESTION: I'm a first time rat owner and just bought a hairless rat from a pet store. I'm not sure of his exact age, however, I know the pet store gets them as babies and he was there for around 6 weeks. I also bought a furry dumbo (male) at the same time to keep him company. They get along very, very well.
My problem is that I've recently noticed that he is getting dark circles around his eyes that were not there when I bought him. It almost looks like bruising and seems to have switched from his right eye to his left. I know they secrete something from their eyes, but it looks more like it is his skin and not a secretion. He is also sneezing quite a bit, though I'm not sure if that is normal.
I have no idea what it could be. Could it be caused by his food or bedding?
I'll give you a little information on his diet, bedding, etc.
-He is not neutered and, as I mentioned, lives with another male rat a little bit younger than him who is also not neutered.
-I feed him a mixed rat food (I forget the name since I've put the food in tupperware and thrown the bag away) that contains various seeds, nuts, berries, pellets, and corn as well as fresh vegetables and fruit daily (no oranges). I also feed him small pieces of bread, Yogies, rice crispies, raisins, and banana chips as treats. They have chew blocks and VitaKraft Corn& Fruit sticks to chew on.
-He gets fresh bottled water daily that I add Oasis Vita-Drops to.
He eats and drinks well.
-I use Carefresh Ultra bedding which is unscented. They love to tear up tissues for bedding. I use "nesting confetti" for my ratties to play with, Sweet Dreams soft bedding, and I also cut strips off of an old pair of soft pajamas for both my rats to make a bed out of inside their igloo. I washed them beforehand with no detergent.
-I clean their cage with Green Works and rinse it really, really well.
-My boyfriend and I are very careful not to spray perfumes or anything in my room since I read that rats have sensitive respiratory systems.
-There are no drafts or very cold air in my room.
-He lives in a very large tri-level cage with one inch spaced bars and a solid bottom.
-I let them out and play with them for a combined 3-4 hours every day. The cage is in my bedroom so they are constantly around me, even if they are in the cage.
He's very sweet and affectionate. He loves to lay with me, fall asleep in my sweater pockets and hoods, and cuddle as well as run around and explore.
-When I first got them, I had to wait for the cage to come in the mail so they lived in an aquarium for a week.
Could anything I'm doing or have done made him sick? I'm very worried since we've become very attached to each other. Any advice would be helpful. I hope I've given you enough information for you to let me know if there's anything at all I'm doing wrong.

Thank you so much!

Note: I have also sent this question to Janell McMorran.

ANSWER: Here is the deal with hairless rats: They lack a thymus gland and because of this, their immune system is much weaker than that of a furred rat. Has alot to do with genetic mutation and all that mumbo jumbo.

The darkness around the eyes sounds more like hyper pigmentation which simply means the skin is darker in that area.  The excess porphyrin, however, may be from irritation as you suspect, but coupled with sneezing makes me uncomfortable.

We can try to stop using the carefresh, as I have had reports over the years that it is dustier than most other beddings and when the rat was put with another litter, the sneezing stopped. However, I dont like to play around and wait for this or wait for that to work should there really be a medical problem. This will only allow the condition to become worse the longer it goes untreated.  My hunch tells me that its probably a mixture of both. I would try using yesterdays news, but instead of spending oodles of money at the pet store buying a small bag in the small mammal section, go to the cat litter section.  Look for the bag of carefresh UNSCENTED. It is the exact same litter only in a different package and much cheaper.  Also, refer to my website on the page about litter training. Its so easy to do and so much more healthier for rats. less exposure to all that litter with it being kept in just a plastic tray in the corner of the cage rather than covering the entire bottom of the cage with litter. Locate the corner where they tend to leave their droppings most and anchor the litter pan there.  Tips on my website, which the URL is listed below but also found in my profile too.

Please read my website, sandyscrittercity.com and refer to the pages on both mycoplasmosis and also the page about porphryin, titled something like "bloody eyes and nose"

I dont usually get excited over excess porphyrin when it is more noticed after the rat wakes up, but it is in both eyes and around both nostrils, the rat sneezes, and you may even hear some congestion or other audile noises such as a monkey sound or chirping, this is all the start of a respiratory infection often the culprit of mycoplasmosis pulmonis.

Janell (Whom I know very well, shes a great girl!) may know more about the dark circles around the rats eyes since she is a hobby breeder, but I have a vast medical history working with rats in a clinical setting and can attest that a rat with a known weaker immune system that is sneezing may need a round of antibiotics for a full cycle which should be  4 weeks.  If the rat doesnt respond to the medication after three days another should be introduced but never just stop the antibiotic before its time or this will cause a possible antibiotic resistant bacteria and if the rat should relapse, the chances that the medication will help are less and the chance that there may be irreversible damage to the delicate lung tissue such as scarring are likely.

Do you have a vet that knows about rats and not just a general vet that claims to be the exotic vet on staff yet has no real training in exotic medicine?
If you need a good vet please allow me to help locate one. I just need to know your location.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for responding so quickly.
Well, I called around to a lot of vets and the only one that treats rats, that I found, is Banfield in Holmdel NJ. Unfortunately, they only have one vet that sees rats, and the soonest appointment I could get was 3 o'clock this sunday the 20th. I don't know if she specializes in exotics but I'm kind of panicked and figured an appointment there would be better than none at all. It didn't occur to me until now that that might not be the case and she may misdiagnose my baby.
If you could refer me to a vet that would be greatly appreciated or if you have any info on this particular vet. I live in the Woodbridge area in NJ.
Also, should I bring both Willard and K'nuckles to get checked out incase Will has something communicable?

Thank you again!

Answer
http://www.aemv.org/vetlist.cfm

Above is the URL to the association of exotic mammal Vets. Dont let the name fool you as not all the vets that belong to this association are board certified in exotics. however, they have what is called a special interest in exotic companion mammals and tend to know more than a general DVM.

Refer to this page and find a vet that is closest to you. Even 45 mins. away is better than nothing.  let me know and I will find out more about the vet and his or her creds.

I would not worry about the other rats until they show symptoms. Medications given to rats that dont have active infection can quickly cause alot of problems you dont want or need!

Also please go ove my website sandyscrittercity.com and read about Vets, too. This can be found in one of the first 10 pages on my site in the index.