My Rat Ginger

Question
Hi, i am nicole and i have 2 female rats living in the same cage, Ginger and Cream, my questions is about Ginger.
Ginger is a small rat, aroung the size of a baby rat at 3 weeks, when you can first take them home. She is around a year old and she is still this same size, also, her face is a little deformed, she was like this when i got her, My dad suggests that one side of her face is growing faster than the other, her nose is sort of pointing to the side, and she sneezes alot, her nose has been bleeding recently and when she sleeps she seems to breathe so heavily i can hear her. I was wondering if she has some sort of chronic illness or if she is just the runt of the litter! Thanx for your time in this matter!  

Answer
Goodness gracious that sounds odd. It sounds like she was born with this mutation.

As for the sneezing and bleeding (this is actually a discharge called porphyrin, not blood) this definitely sounds like a respiratory infection that needs to see the vet for medication. Until then, keep her warm and you can try a humidifyer in her room to make breathing a little easier.

I'd also be interested to see what the vet has to say about her face while you're there.

:]