PORPHYRIN

Porphyrin is a red secretion from the eyes or nose of a rat. It can also be present in the rats’ urine.

People often mistake porphyrin for blood but it is actually a fluid that coats the eye and drains down into the nose, much like our tears.

While a small amount is perfectly normal, in a large or constant amount it may be a sign of any of the following:

• Stress caused by the environment, aggressive cage mates, sleep deprivation or overcrowding

• Illness such as corynebacterium, mycoplasmosis, salmonelliosis, and sialodacryoadenitis (SDA)

• Severe pain

• A poor diet or deprivation of water

• Environmental irritants like dust, smoking, untreated pine, scented candles etc.

• Exposure to electric fields

• A blocked tear duct

• An eye infection, injury or abnormality.

In the case of a blocked tear duct, eye infection or injury, often only one eye is affected.

Treatment will depend on the cause of excessive porphyrin excretions.

Ensure your rat is in a stress free environment, safe from irritants, fed a quality diet and fresh water given daily.

Have your rat examined by a veterinarian to determine if the rat is sick or suffering from an injury or infection so it may be treated accordingly.

One need not be alarmed with the first sight of porphyrin staining, but excessive porphyrin secretions could be seen as an early warning of a possible underlying issue.

Those red tears: porphyrin and the Norway rat, http://www.ratbehavior.org/porphyrin.htm, Rat Behaviour and Biology, 2003-2004

Porphyrin Secretions / Red tears, http://ratguide.com/health/eyes/porphyrin_secretions_red_tears.php, Rat Health Guide, October 9, 2013

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