my rat has a red discharge from her eye

Question
My rat has a red discharge from her Left eye the other one looks just fine. She also sneezes a lot and i noticed sometimes
there are little specks of red the same as her discharge when she sneezes.  She is happy and playful and likes to run around. I
Got her from pets mart 2 or so days before christmas and she has been ok except for the discharge from her eye. I use
Carefresh extended odor control bedding extra soft fibers and feed her Nutriphase. She gets cheerios as a treat and i give her
old paper towel and bathroom tissue rolls to play with She has a mineral and salt wheel  as well as two chew toys. She sleeps
in a hide away hut and as taken all the scrap paper and some cardboard from my desk to make it cosy for her. What is
causing the discharge and sneezing? Is this something i should worry about?

Answer
For starters, congrats on your new rat. Owning a pet rat, there is alot to learn about them, starting with the red discharge.
Please check my website and compare photos here:


Next, you must remove the mineral/salt wheel right away from her. Hopefully she didnt have much (I doubt it) rats absolutely do not need it and in fact it is bad for their heart and kidneys. Rats have plenty of salt in their diet and will not benefit from this at all. If the pet store advised it, thats no shocker, as they probably have you feeding her nutriphase seed mix (which we will discuss next)


Rats have very delicate kidneys and too much protein and sodium is very taxing on them. They need a diet low on protein and fats and unfortunately most pet store foods on the shelf are exceeding these percentages which is what also leads to our rats premature death. Some people say rats   live to be 2 and this doesnt have to be true as long as proper care is taken to feed right and keep them healthy by providing medical care when needed. This includes knowing the signs of illness when they first start.  The red discharge you see resembles blood and is produced by a gland behind the rats eyes, as you will read about on my website (along with comparing photos of the rats on the page with your rats eye discharge) some small traces of it are normal in some rats, usually around their nostrils, but when it starts including the nose and both eyes and also the rat is also lethargic on top of it all, this is not good news. Sometimes if the rat sneezes, excess porphyrin spatters out of their nose and gets on the stuff in their cage like you are seeing.  

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

I am not comfortable with her sneezing along with the porphyrin and am thinking this is the beginning stages of mycoplasmosis, which you also need to read about, as every rat owner should, in order to understand how it can ruin your rats health and shorten their life if it is also not caught in time.  I do believe you are catching it in the early phase.  Most pet store rats have signs of it early on due to poor care either by the breeder or the pet store. This includes over crowding, keeping them in glass tanks (the air cannot circulate thus exposing them to the strong ammonia found in their urine)dusty bedding *what your using is ok but some folks still claim carefresh is too dusty*  what you want to avoid is the phenol oils in the litter which is found in pine and cedar. Corn cob is also bad as it can grow a fungus that is real nasty for our rats in matter of hours after it gets damp from urine. Some people actually resort to using cat litter which stumps me......why use a product for a rat that is meant for a cat for starters, and of course its bad for them and if they should eat it? As you can guess, bad news for the rats intestines.

That said, we need to look at her diet (read up on my  website about proper diet for rats here or search in the right side menu) and of course also read up on mycoplasmosis, again, a very important thing to learn and understand.

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

MYCOPLASMOSIS


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

I have taken the time over the years to make my website as easy to follow and understand than most sites that are geared toward medical conditions and rat care without the use of huge medical mumbo jumbo and  explanations easy for children to even follow so they can understand about proper care too without needing mom or dad to help them understand.  Hopefully you will enjoy the fun photos of the cute rats *you are welcome to submit photos of your new rat too, as I welcome all readers to share the cuteness:)*


Oh almost forgot, my favorite part of my site is the page called GETTING STARTED!  The best thing for you and your rat is to construct a play area just for her on the ground that is safe. This includes making a cardboard wall to contain you and your rat safely. Check it out along with the photos to see how it works. Trust me, it keeps the rat from getting away and getting hurt. Rats most dangerous enemy besides other house pets such as the dog or cat are power cords to lamps etc...rats are attracted to live current *one reason wild rodents chew our wires if the get in the attic etc...* and this could be deadly to them as you can imagine.

URL HERE FOR GETTING STARTED:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/gettingstarted.htm
That said, my next question would be to ask if you happen to have a vet in mind that treats exotics.  My guess would be no, and thats ok, because most new rat owners never think about that stuff, since, after all, she is brand new to your home and who would expect her to need a vet so soon?  Thing is, she does, and she  should see one this coming week so he or she can decide if the excessive porphrin is from stress from her new home, which I doubt since you did not say she is shy or with drawn from you, and if the sneezing is related to her bedding or if it is from infection.   The vet needs to be exotic certified, I know, I know, rats are far from exotic, but they fall into this category since they are not of the normal household pet.  At least for now they fall under exotics, but just recently, a brand new specialty has been introduced to the Vet world called *I love this title, btw*  "Exotic companion mammal specialists" which are vets that take the extra few years after general vet school to study care of rats, mice, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters etc... since they feel the need to provide so many people like us the proper care for our rats.  Many general vets will attempt to treat our rats but usually make matters worse, which is why its not real easy to find proper vet care.  That said, if you want me to give you some names of vets that are either exotic certified or are general practice vets that see rats in your area and have taken a few extra courses on exotic care as a special interest, all I need to know is your area code or city and cities nearest you if your in no mans land :)

Hope this information has been helpful. Please follow up with me after you have checked out the information on my website, esp about the red discharge.