Bleeding eye

Question
QUESTION: I have a blue male that is about 4 months old recently I noticed some blood on some paper towels in his cage. When I checked him out I saw that his left eye was leaking a brownish red liquid. His eye sometimes bulges out a little and has also     turned a pale color. Could it be a brain tumor? What should I do?
Thanks so much.


My one eyed boy   ANSWER: Hi Chassity

The brown you see is probably porphyrin. Check it here and compare photos to see if this is what your seeing:

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

However, with the eye turning lighter and bulging out some, it sounds like he has an eye infection. This needs treated right away by a qualified vet. Sometimes the infection is too bad and hard to control and the Vet needs to remove the eye. This is nothing to get upset over, although of course we dont want to see this occur, the rat adjusts just fine.  I had to have my rats eye removed last year and he is still king of the cage.  I put a photo up of him after the eye was removed.  You can also read about eye infections on my site under the health care section scrolling half way down.

If you do not have a vet, I can help you find one to take the rat to see. AN exotics vet is the  best bet so your rat can get the best care possible.

Do you have a photo of his eye?

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Rowdy's Eye   QUESTION: It seems a little worse than in the photos on the link you sent me. He is acting like all of our other rats, doesn't seem sick but the paper towels are getting a lot of blood on them. I really appreciate your help and let me know if you need me to try to get a better photo.

Answer

Hmmm...this looks more serious than I first thought.

From what I see from the photo, that is not porphyrin:(

It appears to be hyperemia (blood in the conjunctiva) possibly due to subconjunctival hemorrhage.

It may be Uveitis, but he needs a vet right away to treat it no matter what it is.

Do you have a vet for him that is qualified to treat rats, especially something more complicated than the usual respiratory infections etc..?