pet rat death

Question
My dear pet rat Ratoi has just died. He's been ill for along time with a  breathing difficulty. He died peacefully in my arms just now. I just want to know why when rats are very ill that their white fur, especially around the mouth and head, changes to dark brown colour. Ratoi wasa white albino.Can you advise please?
Kind regards
James

Answer
Hi James

I am very sorry you lost Ratoi.  He is at peace now and no longer is he suffering.


As for the brown discoloration you are seeing, this is from porphyrin discharge he probably had coming  from his eyes and nose.   I imagine you proabbly have seen this discharge, often misaken for blood.  Porphyrin is a secretion from both  the eyes and nose and it is prodcued by a gland located behind the rats eyes known as the harderian gland.
When the rat is stressed, they produce a larger amount porphyrin.
Check out my website, sandyscrittercity.com and refer to the page on "bloody eyes and nose" to see photos of what it looks like.  

Anyhow, when the rat grooms, he will get the reddish/brown porphyrin onto his paws and smear it onto the fur. A white or light furred rat will have staining on his fur that appears brownish to brownish red. This happens even if the rat is not sick but may have porphyrin discharge enough that it gets on their front paws during grooming. They can also get it on their cagemates when grooming them as well.