Rats contagious illness?

Question
Hi,
   thank you for taking time out of your holiday to answer my question. I just got two new rats, one hairless, that now have some red colored discharge around thier eyes. I have researched this a little and know that it is most likely a porphyrin secretion. But is porphyrin contagious. My haired rat had it when i got her from Petco. She is about 6 months old. I already had my other rat who is months old. I put them together after a short introduction outside of the cage. They get along very well but i noticed some red discharge on her eye after about a day. I wonder if this was caused by stress by the move from the pet store to my home. I keep them in aspen and paper pellet bedding and have them in a very large bird cage. They have many nesting boxes and i have put fleece strips to keep them warm in the boxes. They are out of drafts and get indirect sunlight for about 9 hours a day. I kept thier cage covered at night for it get below 30 degrees outside at this time of the year. The thing that worries me is that the hairless one now has the same secretion. Oh, and they only have it in one eye as far as i can tell, but i could be wrong as they don't hold still for close inspection. I am currently searching my surrounding areas for a vet that treats exotics. They have no discharge from thier nose but have been sneezing a little more than usual. Thank you in advance for your help,

Sincerely,
          Crissy

Answer
Porphyrin is not a disease. It is a discharge that is created by a gland, the harderian gland, which is located behind the rats eyes.  This gland produces porphyrin mainly to lubricate the rats nictating membrane (third eyelid)  Some rats have more than others, often having it on their nose or in their eyes when they wake from a long sleep.  They tend to secrete heavy amounts when they are stressed or ill.  Some rats do not have any, not even when they are sick, and others have it all the time, healthy or not.

Please read my website about porphyrin and note some of the photos of rats with traces of it.
It can be normal but it can also be a sign of stress, depending on your rat.  

Here is the link to the page on my site describing porphyrin:

http://www.sandyscrittercity.com/bloodynoseandeyes.htm