ratties eyes look poorly :(

Question
hi i have 4 rats 2 boys and 2 girls in seperate cages one of the girls (she is white with naturally red eyes and big ears) i noticed something that looked like blood comeing from her eye i tried to get a closer look but shes very restless and very (scared/shy/timid) and often bites (that doesnt bother me )but im woried about her eye and ive just noticed only a few minutes ago that the hair round her eye is missing now i dont want her to be poorly :( could you advise please

p.s. the other girl rat breathes really hard all the time and is a noisy breather but its got alot worse recently she still behaves the same though.  thanks for your help

Answer
Excessive porphin (the red stuff in her eyes) can be normal for some rats, but if you've noticed the other rat breathing hard, I suspect you have an upper respiratory thing going on with the two of them. I suggest you see a vet and have meds prescribed. Unfortunately, I can't offer you any other advice, as there's no over-the-counter medicine you can give them.

Make sure you're using appropriate bedding (no pine or cedar), food, and lots of fresh water -- all of those things will also cause excessive porph and breathing difficulty.