new rat problems

Question
Hi,
I have 2 rats currently, one is a dumbo and one is a fancy.
I got 2 males thinking they would be easier to care for(since females may go into heat etc.)  I obtained these rats at Petsmart on July 26th.  Both have been sneezing when and after I handle them so I figure that's normal for the first month or so. However, my fancy rat has also had porphyrin stains on one of his eyes, but its odd the way it shows up.  They look like ordinary porphyrin stains however they will show up randomnly.  For example, this morning I visited the rats at there cage, which woke them up, my fancy rat had no porphyrin staining on that eye, however litterally 10 minutes later when I go back to the cage to feed them and handle them he has porphyrin stains.  It's now an hour later and his staining is again gone.  This has been happening every morning since I brought him home and I'm very confused.  When I brought him to Petsmart to ask there rat caretaker she said that she would assume he had corn allergies, so I stopped feeding both of them my mazuri rat/mouse blocks and started them on a nurtiphase mixed formula so I could take out the corn. Now my dumbo rat is different, hes very hyper (compared to my fancy) and always much more jittery in my hands when im holding him, however his breathing is much louder when I hold him up to my ear, I dont know if hes sniffing my ear or not because sometimes his breathing will cool down to silent for a couple seconds and then he'll start sniffing around again.  Yesterday morning he woke up with a red nose but didn't this morning or any other morning.  Is a resperitory disease contagious between rats because my fancy rat breathes fine. Also, when my dumbo rat was sleeping in the corner of his cage one time with his nose on the cage bars i crouched down and listened to his breathing and it was silent if that'll offer any positive information.  I'm a little confused with both of these rats and wanted to know what you thought of their situations and if I should get vetrinary help as soon as I can, or if any of this is normal.   Thankyou

PS: He hasn't lately, but after I got these two rats my fancy rat was licking my hand alot when I held him, is there a reason for this?

Answer
Hi Vanna

For starters, you rats were better off eating the mazuri blocks rather than the seed mix. There is nothing healthy or nutritious about seeds and rats need more than that in their diet. You can read more about diet and allergies here:

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

As for food allergies, its not the corn so much as it is the super high protein content, which again is found in seed mixes along with tons of fats.High protein in rats trigger skin disorders and also can cause kidney disease later in life. A rat with a food allergy will not sneeze however. Instead, they show signs of itching and scabs and loss of fur that some rat owners mistake as being possibly mites or rat lice.

Next, the porphyrin discharge. Alot of people think it is a sign of illness and in many cases, it is. However, some rats do produce more than others and they have traces of it when they wake up from sleeping for a while. When there is alot of sneezing and some congestion coming from the rat and they have porphyrin, this can indicate possible mycoplasmosis.  Every rat is born with this organism but it doesnt always cause illness unless something triggers it.


Also, they can have irritants from their litter cause respiratory problems such as the use of pine, cedar or corn cob bedding, all which can contribute to not only respiratory problems but liver disease later in life.

What you can do is change their diet and give them a week or so. See how they are. If by chance they get worse of course, a vet visit is warranted, but if they seem the same or even better, it may be the diet is all that needed to be changed.

Do you have a vet?  If not, please check out my website and go to the page on how to find an exotic vet for your rat by going to the link to the AEMV and doing a search of your area using the drop down menu.

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

Please let me know if you have any more questions. I am happy to help!!