Pink/Orange colored fur??

Question
Hi.  :)

I have a female PEW pet rat.  I'm not sure how old she is since I got her at a pet store but I think she's about a year.  She has been sick and been on a Baytril mix which wasn't really helping her.  I asked the vet if we could try something else and he switched her to a new medication.  Since she's been on the new medicine, the fur around her face and neck is kind of turning a pinky/orange color.  It's more obvious some days and less obvious other days.  Is the medicine causing this or something else?  Should I take her off the medicine?

Answer
Hi Sara


What your seeing is porphyrin staining.  The mucus from her nose and/or eyes is getting on her paws during grooming. The porphyrin is a reddish in color. Anyhow, it gets mixed with her saliva and also perhaps the medicine on her tongue that you gave her and she licks her paws and grooms herself and gets her paws wet so she can groom her face and neck and chest and spreads the colored saliva all over her, staining her fur. THere is more some days than others because she may not be secreting as much porphyrin one day and more the next.  Have you noticed alot of it around her eyes and nose lately since she has been sick?  Also, what is wrong with her that she is ill?

WHat is the name of the medication that she is on now?  Usually the rule of thumb is three days....if it doesnt work, try another medication and so on and so on....