My New Naked Rat Sneezing brown

Question
QUESTION: Iv just gotten a naked rat. We named him Harry. He was for the snake but he never ate him so we kept him. He sneezed a second ago and it was brown. Is this bad? Hes sneezes alot.

ANSWER: Hi Maranda

No,its not bad.... what you saw him sneeze out is called porphyrin and it is normal to come out when they sneeze. Porphyrin is produced by a gland that is located behind the rats eyes called the harderian gland. It normally is there to produce a lubricant for the rats third eyelid but excessive porphyin will secrete out of the nose during sleep and it looks like the rat may have a nosebleed. When the rat is stressed due to illness or a new home etc...they will secrete even more porphyrin and it can be found caked around the eyes and nostrils too. He may smear it all over from grooming and you will find brownish tinged fur (or in Harry's case, skin:-)
Too much of this is a sign for the rat keeper to know that the rat is sick and needs a vet. An exotics specialist is preferred but there are some vets that hold a "special interest in exotics" and although they did not take their state boards for exotics, they are legally allowed to say they have a special interest in exotics and can treat them properly. You probably have an exotics vet now since you have a snake.
You say the rat sneezes alot? This is also normal coming from a rat that was probably kept on pine which is B-A-D for rats, as well as cedar. He should be on aspen, yesterdays news, carefresh etc...no corncob either as it can mold fast and make the rat very sick.
Do you know much about rats as pets? There is alot to learn especially about hairless rats. He will need to be kept in a roomy cage never ever an aquarium because this causes terrible ammonia build up regardless of how often you clean the tank and the rat will have more health problems than ever before.
Rats need a diet low in protein and fat but hairless rats require a bit more fat and protein. Please refer to my website to learn all you need to know about rats, from diet to illness.
I will give you the URL at the end of this message but you can access it from my profile too.

Now just a few things...I am also a big snake lover as well and wanted to ask if you have tried to feed your snake humanely pre killed frozen rats or mice?
Not only is this more humane for the rat, but it is also SAFER for your snake. I have seen snakes die from deep rat bites and I am talking huge snakes too. If the snake doesn't die, it suffers horribly and infection often sets in and it can linger for weeks and weeks. Often this kills the snake.
There is nothing "natural" about feeding live when a snake is captive and handed his prey.  Snakes need to "hunt" and the rat or mouse deserves a fair chance of escape. This also ensures the snake wont get hurt in the process. Most snakes will take to frozen and many people fuss and insist that they wont, but if don't properly, they do. In fact our clinic refuses to treat snakes that are fed live because it goes against the Vets orders.  The choice is yours, but once you fall in love with Harry and look into his eyes, you will more than likely start feeding frozen.
Also promise me that if something should change that you wont feed Harry to your snake. Harry now thinks he is your pet...that wouldn't be fair to take that away from him and have him meet eye to eye with a snake.
I am happy you kept him. Your concern for him by seeking out advice on his health and well being shows me that you will take good care of him and he deserves that. Hairless rats are precious!  He may be shy for a while, after all, he probably wasn't socialized properly and since he came "this close" to being snake food, he will no doubt need to learn to trust humans. Be patient....don't force him to be held...allow him to come to you and talk soft to him. Keep in mind rats have terrible vision...they would be legally blind if they were human.
Again, here is the URL to my website so you can learn all about these cute sweet little creatures.

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

Feel free to check back again anytime!

Sandy

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QUESTION: Ok. Thanks! But I have him in an aquarium. But the top is not glass or wood. Its the wired kind. I used to be kind of like a rat breeder. I had many snakes that my uncle would feed rats to. If the snake didnt eat it, we kept it. We ended up having over 14 babies. Once we moved we gave them away. They were kept in an aquarium and nothing was wrong with them.

ANSWER: An aquarium doesn't give the rat the climbing advantages that cages offer.  It doesn't offer decent ventilation and ammonia odors are trapped.Its good for pinkies because it helps keep them warm and also for very young rats that keep them from escaping through cage bars, but over time, tanks can cause health problems usually respiratory related. Maybe nothing was wrong with the rats you bred for snake food but if the snake didn't eat them first, they probably would have long term health problems.  It doesn't happen right away.

If the tank is big enough and you keep him off of pine and cedar it may have benefits for the hairless rat because of the warmth it will contain, but again, he needs to climb and move all around to be healthy and there isn't much to do in an aquarium unless its a huge 40 gal tank with lots of fun things to play on and climb on.


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

QUESTION: Whats wrong with Cedar and Pine bedding?

Answer
Where to start....pine and cedar contain phenol oils that are toxic to small rodents and rabbits etc...
causing serious respiratory problems along with liver disease that is not apparent until later in life. It also has been linked to cancer in our small pets. It is deadly and should be banned but as long as pet stores keep it hush hush from novice small pet owners, they keep selling and selling.  
I can go on and on but if you want, there are many sources listed below that can be even more descriptive than I am. You can also "Google" PINE AND CEDAR TOXIC TO SMALL PETS or anything along those lines to read more.  

Check out the links below for even more information on it and also what litters are good to use.

http://www.ratfanclub.org/litters.html

http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html

http://thedomesticzoo.com/2006/02/15/wednesday-february-15-2006/

http://www.trifl.org/cedar.shtml

http://www.afrma.org/rminfo2a.htm#pine