URGENT PLZ!!

Question
QUESTION: my pet rat, shylo, aged about 1 year has blood comming out both eyes (i think this may be the fact she was scratching them, but not sure) but now she is totally paralyzed and wont eat or drink... she wont move to go to the toilet and will not even lick water off my finger... this has been going on for 2 days (paralyzed) and i have been picking her up (she remains completely limp) and cleaning the blood out her eyes and i give her bum and rear end a clean (because she gets wee and poo on her).. i really have no idea what to do please help???? i was thinking it was a brain tumor??? thank you, brendan

ANSWER: Hi Brendan


Sounds like your little rat is pretty sick.  One thing though, is the stuff coming from her eyes is not blood. It is called porphyrin and it is a reddish tint mucus that is produced by a gland located behind the eyes called the harderian gland. When the rat is stressed from illness or simply from anxiety from certain situations etc...the gland works overtime producing more than normal amounts of porphyrin. This mucus secretes from the eyes and nose and often startles new rat owners making them think it is blood since it closely resembles it.

Your Shylo is a bit young for stroke although it is not uncommon.  FOr it to be so acute like this I doubt it is a tumor. It sounds more like infection possibly in the brain such as Encephalitis.      
She needs to see a vet right away in order to recover.  Do you have a vet that is good with rats you can take her to see?  She needs to be seen tomorrow right away

Let me know right away!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey im sorry to be rude but i know the difference between blood and porphyrin... its definently blood and sticks in balls around here eye.. she can barely see out one of them. also abit more info she can move her legs as she becomes distressed when i clean her genital area and she kicks her feet around slighty

Answer
Its not being rude by telling me you know the difference between porphyrin and blood. Many people do not know what porphyrin is if this is the first time they have ever seen it.

If your rat has blood pooling in her eyeballs to the point she can hardly see out of them, and is so sick she cannot move to eat or drink, she needs vet care now.

If you do not have a vet please let me help you find one that will help her.