My mouse has red eye discharge. Is it porphyrin staining or stress?

Hello, and thank you for your question. The reddish discharge from the eyes is called porphyrin, which usually occurs in rats due to stress, often due to medical illness. Has she been feeling unwell lately? Common causes of illness in rats include upper respiratory infections (colds), systemic infections, diarrhea, skin problems, or skin tumours. If her energy or appetite are decreased, I would encourage you to take her to the vet to pinpoint the underlying cause. At minimum, they can provide supportive medications for pain or antibiotics if needed. In the meantime, make sure you are keeping Enni's living area clean, and cleaning out any soiled bedding daily. I hope this helps, and that Enni feels better soon.

Hello! The picture is a bit dark, but there are two main possible causes for this. The first cause is completely normal- rats have porphyrin pigment, which is red colored, in their tears and nasal secretions naturally. Seeing a small amount of red tinged tearing is completely normal in rats. The tearing often increases during times of stress and illness. Moving is a common cause of stress in rats, so may increase this normal tear production. If Nugget is completely normal otherwise, I would likely attribute this to the stress of moving. If the discharge is a bright frank red blood, associated with the eye being swollen or held shut, yellow/green discharge, sneezing, wheezing, lethargy, or disinterest in food, I would recommend a vet check to rule out an upper respiratory infection that may require antibiotics for both rats, as it is usually contagious. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! :)

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! When I see patients like this the first thing I do is a skin scrape to check for residual parasites like mites (which I suspect here) If none are found, often I will do a culture to make sure no resistant bacteria or fungi (like ringworm-another possibility high in the list) infect the skin, and if so what kind. Thank you for attaching pictures! It is very helpful to us. The "blood" that you are seeing is likely a secretion called porphyrin...it can be released due to stress or illness. I hope this information helps! If you need further assistance or would like a consult please don't hesitate to ask.

Poor Moose! With a change in eye color I'd be worried there was an injury to the eye, infection, or something such as a cataract in old age. If she's not eating she may not be feeling well which can also be a sign of this. It would be best to bring her to your vet to have the eye examined in person, and any treatment given as needed such as antibiotics. Until you can get to your vet, keeping Moose warm and eating and drinking as much as possible, as well as keeping the eye clear and clean (if there is any discharge) may help.

It is normal porphyrin staining. It is not a problem. Sometimes you can bathe them and it will resolve and sometimes not. It is not dangerous. There are no remedies to make it stop unfortunately. Good question!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The crusting and discharge you describe can be normal, but accumulate if Churro is not grooming as much as he should be. Decreased grooming can be caused by many conditions and is a pretty vague indicator of overall health. A viral infection or conjunctivitis can also be to blame. I recommend having Churro seen by a vet, especially if he is not eating as much as usual or is less active.

First of all make sure it is not blood, as it could be easily confused with it. Just wipe it with a wet swab and if not coming back immediately that means you are right otherwise an immediate check up will be needed. There are different causes for abnormal porphyrin secretion. Age, general Illness, unbalanced or bad quality diet and irritation from bedding could be all related to chromodacryorrhea. If you already rule out all these and still have this problem a check up will be needed. Please post a further pic of the secretion so we can give more specific advices about it. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.