sneezing and blood

Question
hi i have a female rat, bought her on the 14 feb 2008. ever since she has bee with us she has not stopped sneezing. I have changed her bedding from sawdust to hay and now to a sheet of newspaper with shredded toilet paper on top for warmth. yet it is still on going. this morning i cleaned out her bed and saw odd blood patches... could this be from her sneezing so much and her rubbing her nose? please can you help me..

Answer
Hi Bethany

I have some good news for you. First of all, what your rat is sneezing out is not blood. It is called porphyrin and it looks just like blood. New rat owners usually assume it is blood when they see it which is totally understandable. Let me explain what it is so you can understand what is happening with your new little girl.

First thing is the bedding she was on and is on now has alot to do with it. Saw dust is just so terrible for a rats very delicate lungs. I am glad you knew to change it. Second, the hay is not really good for her either. Two reasons. First reason is it is not absorbent and her urine will not be absorbed and things will stay wet. The hay will eventually cause molding and mildew and this of course can trigger allergies and sneezing plus of course mold spores are terrible for rats. Second, the hay has been known to poke the eyes out in rats. Sounds gross, I know, but its true.  So hay is out. Newspaper isn't much better as far as being absorbent and controlling wetness properly but its ok to line the cage with it as long as the ink is soy based and as long as you put some other litter over it.  Aspen or care fresh are best. Never use pine or cedar because the phenol oils found in it are toxic to rats. Pet stores will hopefully pull both of these litters from the shelves. Many organizations are working hard to ban the sale of pine and cedar due to the serious health problems they provoke. Aspen is cheaper than carefresh and its nice and soft.

Now about the porphyrin your seeing from her nose. Your little girl is stressed from her new home which is pretty normal.  When rats are stressed, they tend to secrete porphyrin from their eyes and nose and also when they sneeze. This porphyrin is produced from a gland behind the eyes called the harderian gland. Porphyrin is thought to be produced to aid in lubrication of the rats third eyelid but its not really known for sure what its true function it. What we do know is when rats are stressed from illness, anxiety from a new home or new cagemate or even losing a cage mate, they produce more than normal porphyrin and it cakes around their eyes and nose. Its a good way to know if something is wrong with your rat.
As for keeping her warm, rats need to be kept in a room with no drafts and temps around 72 degrees ideally. Anything lower and they can become sick and temps above 80 degrees can cause heat stroke so keep that in mind for summer time even though it seems so far away yet! :-)
Do you have a little house for her to hide and sleep in inside her cage?  Also that reminds me to ask if she is in a cage or tank. If she is in a tank she needs to be moved into a cage and if she is a baby rat the cage needs to have the bars spaced close together so she cant get through the bars. Tanks do not allow proper air circulation and can cause respiratory illness too.
Anyhow, rats also need a place to hide and sleep so if she doesn't have a little house you can easily make one from a little box like a tissue box if she is small or a shoe box. Cut lots of holes in it so she can fit through. Better yet, since cardboard eventually gets wet from urine etc...you can even look around the house for a plastic container, like a plastic bowl. Cut a few doors and windows and turn it upside down and she now will have a little dome house to sleep in. Also instead of toilet tissue, offer her paper towels to shred up and change them out a few times a day because they will get wet from urine too.
To sum it all up, what is wrong with your little girl right now is change of environment and she is a bit nervous yet because she has to get used to everything. This may stress her a bit and as said before, it causes sneezing because her histamine levels rise and cause sneezing and the stress is causing porphyrin discharge in excessive amounts. Does she have a cagemate? Rats are super social animals and need to be with their own species of the same sex. This will also help her feel more comfortable at her new home.
She will need to have a safe place to run and play and I have a great way to keep her safe. All you need to do is get some nice big cardboard boxes, fold them flat, tape them together and spread them around like a play pen. You can sit in it with her and put the cage in it too and allow her to come in and out of the cage during her play time if she is scared and she can be safely contained in the cardboard play pen. Never leave her alone though of course because if she gets scared enough she can scale the walls and escape.
You can give her lots of toys to play with during play time too such as ping pong balls to roll, a box full of old socks to climb in and explore...a paper bag to play in (never plastic)

What kind of food is she eating, btw?

Anyhow, keep an eye on her and her sneezing. She may continue to sneeze for a few weeks yet. Change her bedding to aspen or care fresh, use paper towels and provide her a hidey house and keep her from drafts. Speak softly to her and handle her gently never forcing her to be held and allowing her to come to you on her own. If she lives alone, she needs a friend. All of these things will lower her stress levels and the sneezing will slowly subside.
Sneezing doesnt always mean illness. However, if she stops eating and is lethargic and wont play or come out of her hidey house and has alot of porphyrin caked around her nose and eyes, that means she may indeed have an infection and needs a vet.  Other wise, the sneezing is related to the big changes in her life.

Hope this helped! Thanks for taking the time to write to find out how to help your new friend! Your a good responsible rat owner!!