my rat is sick!!

Question
hi i just got a new rat and shes sneezing heaps and because she sneezing so much her nose starts to bleed! is there anything i can do to make her better?

Answer
Hi Rachael

Good news for you!!  Your rat is NOT bleeding from her nose. What she has coming from it is called Porphyrin. It is a reddish brown discharge that comes from the nose and eyes.
Often it comes from the nose when the rat sneezes which is totally normal. It is just like when we sneeze and we have the nasal discharge come out of our nose too.
Porphyrin is made by an excretory gland located behind the rats eyes called the harderian gland and this glad is used to make porphyrin to lubricate the rats third eyelid.
When rats are stressed, the body tends to produce more porphyrin than normal. They will have alot of it caked around both the nose and they eyes too and if the rat is light colored or all white, you may notice pink stains on her fur because the rat grooms herself and gets the porphyrin on her paws and in turn, it smears on her fur. When the rat is stressed it is often from illness or it can be from a change in environment or loss or addition of a cagemate can stress the rat too. Some porphyrin is totally normal and every rat is different. They normally have more around their nose when they wake up and they also tend to sneeze more when they have been sleeping, too.

You said the rat is new? Do you have other rats at home already?          
                                                                                                                                         Another bit of good news is when rats enter a strange environment they are constantly sniffing. This is one way rats learn about their surroundings is through smells. They even learn to identify us by remembering our special scent.
New rats sneeze alot the first month or so because they are sniffing so much they inhale every little particle of dust etc....
Sneezing is nothing to worry about when all they do is sneeze. However, if they show signs of illness too, such as not eating or drinking, losing weight, if you hear any congestion in her nose or chest or wheezing and gasping, or fast/heavy breathing,  or hear any noise from the rat when she breathes that sounds like a monkey or an owl hoot or grunting sounds etc...(so hard to explain how it sounds!!) you will need to see a vet  and right away. Once rats show signs of illness, they are usually pretty sick by that time which means time is against the rat and needs medical assistance right away.

  How often does your rat sneeze? When does she sneeze? Is it in a row over and over ? Does she get a break and stop sneezing?

Sorry for so  many questions but I wanted to know so I can further advise you once I have a more clear picture of her sneezing jags.