My rat is sick: peeing blood, red tears, and very cold. What's wrong?

'chromodacryorrhea is the term for the red tearing that is commonly seen in rats. This is not blood per se, but a secretion of porphyrin from the gland. This happens commonly when your rat is very ill or stressed and is indicative of a serious condition. If he is sneezing and showing this, it is time for a trip to the vet. Your rat may have a treatable respiratory illness or something more serious like a tumor. I would urge you to take him in as soon as possible. Hope this helps.

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.

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.

Hi Natalie, i have a feeling she might have injured her tail, try checking for a wound or a cut on the tail. if this is not it, it might be a urinary infection. in both cases she will need to be seen by a vet and she will need a course of antibiotics.

Hello. Unfortunately, rats are very prone to cancer. If there is already a tumor on her body, there is also a very good possibility that there has been metastasis to the intestines. If you can have her seen by a veterinarian, this would be best, otherwise keep her as warm & comfortable as possible. Feed her whatever she will eat, but if the bleeding does not stop soon, she may not survive long. I hope you can have her seen. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Rick! The staining you are describing is porphyrin, which is a normal discharge that gets groomed off. However, when rats are not feeling well it can be produced in larger amounts and lack of grooming causes it to accumulate. If Rick is having trouble breathing, he should be seen by his vet immediately as he may need oxygen supplementation. To keep him comfortable, you can moisten his food slightly or provide a gel diet which is easier to eat.

If she hasn't been mated, a rectal prolapse is a more likely cause of the bleeding than the 2nd most likely cause...a vaginal prolapse. A rectal prolapse would look like an outpocketing of tissue from the anus. Application of neosporin and Preparation H ointment (alternating) twice daily each may be helpful. With some cases you can actually manually reduce the prolapse by pushing it back in. I recommend examining the area closely and if the above steps do not improve her symptoms, perhaps a friend can take her to a vet with you.