Porphyrin Eye Discharge

Question
Hi, I have a male rat around a year old who has recently had Porphyrin discharge around his eyes and has been behving sluggishly (he is very reluctant to move). I haven't changed his bedding, he hasn't been moved, no new rats have been introduced, and the discharge and lethargy have persisted for about a week. I have recently changed his food from the Reggie Rat to a Fiesta brand rat food, the change only lasted for a week due to the pet store not recieving a shipment of the Reggie Rat. Sice a week ago I have switched back. Regretfully I do not have access to a vet that is willing to treat rats, so I was wondering if there was any other treatment I could give him, a special diet or an over the counter pet medication that I could use to treat him. I realize that because of various legal implications you may not be able to recommend anything, but I would greatly appriciate any advise you could give me.

Answer
He needs a vet.  You may need to drive a bit to get to one that sees rat fortunately for both of you I have a database here that is pretty good on finding vets that treat rats, and have surprised even people that think there is none for hundreds of miles.   Let me know where you live and I will happily give you names.  He has an infection, probably pneumonia and has nothing to do with diet, although the diet he is getting is not really nutritious for rats, both reggie rat or fiesta. Seed diets do not even contain half of the proper nutrition needed to provide a healthy daily diet.  Please check my website for ideas on diet here. High protein is about all you get out of those mixes which eventually causes a shut down in kidney function, which is why pet rats rarely live to be over 2 years old when fed seed mixes from pet store shelves.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm

Again, I can find you a vet, because without one, he wont be able to recover. There is nothing over the counter that can help him.