# Sudden appearance of Porphyrin on nose



## glh (Jul 2, 2016)

My oldest rat (18months) has had what I believe to be Porphyrin on the very top of his nose for the past 2 days, there is no staining around the nostrils just on the top of his nose.
This isnt a normal occurrence for him, he seems fine within himself, eating fine etc.
Last week he was at the vets as I feared he may be choking (i was right) she dislodged the obstruction & xrayed him to be safe, she saw no respiratory issues and gave him a shot of diuretic to make sure he hadnt aspirated. he has seemed fine since the choking incident.

I picked him up and listened to his breathing and although I can hear his breaths it doesnt sound rattly or unsual, I also listened to his cage mates breathing and it sounded no different to his.

Should I be worried?


----------



## ABeautifulMess (Jun 23, 2016)

I'm pretty new to rats, so I'm probably not as experienced as a lot of users here. However, I took my rat to the vet the other day because he still had porphyrin on his nose, despite being on antibiotics for 2 weeks for a URI. The vet listened to his breathing and checked his health. He said he seemed fully healthy, but the porphyrin was just from him being congested. If you're still worried about it, I would probably take him to the vet to be safe, but if he's eating, drinking, his breathing is normal, and he's not excessively sneezing, he's probably fine, just a little congested.


----------



## MousE190 (Oct 7, 2014)

Do not worry, porphyrin is normal,,with constant grooming rats do it is no surprise that the top of his nose is red....just watch how they groom. always fussing about their noses.. I have 3 boys, 2 are white, 1 grey,,the white ones have pink(porphyrin) stains, from the grooming. As long as the breathing and lungs are clear,,,try not to fret. Good to hear the obstruction was removed.


----------



## glh (Jul 2, 2016)

Thank you for the reassurance, I do tend to over worry about him with his age!


----------



## glh (Jul 2, 2016)

Thank you for the reply,In your experience what are the first signs of a URI just so I can be aware?


----------



## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

Listen to his lungs and if they are clear it usually means it isn't a URI if there's rattling then you should consider taking him to the vet. So you were doing the right thing. 

Rats can have / develop allergies too. If you have a spray bottle or something to mist the air or bedding it should help keep the dust down. Porphyrin could be from sleeping or a little stress still from the incident. If everything else seems okay with him then he could be just fine.


----------



## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Porphyrin lubricates a rat eyes. However, you shouldn't be able to see it. If you see it, your rat likely is sick, stressed, the cage isn't cleaned enough, has allergies, or something in the air is bothering them. My rats used to have porphyrin when they woke up in their sleeping basket where they were sleeping underneath some fleece. Rats will pee on the fleece and then sleep underneath it, breathing in the ammonia from the urine and irritating their eyes, nose, and lungs making them produce more porphyrin. Since they can't sleep underneath any fleece, none of my rats has porphyrin anymore, not even when they wake up.


----------



## glh (Jul 2, 2016)

I've just ordered some back to nature pellet type things to line their cage with rather than hay,Have any of you suffered rats with allergies to hay?I started using a new brand about a month ago and ik convinced one of the pieces of wheat may have been what my little guy choked on earlier in the month, so the hay is going regardless.As far as ammonia from the pee, they have a litter corner that gets cleaned regularily and the porphyrin seemed to appear after I cleaned their cage.Who knows, Il keep a close eye on him and slowly eliminate anything I believe could be causing a possible allergy


----------



## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

Hay is really dusty so it must have been that your rat was reacting to that. 

Are you in the USA, UK, or another country? If you were in Europe I would suggest Aubiose Hemp bedding it doesn't have any dust and is great bedding material.


----------



## glh (Jul 2, 2016)

Just a little update on Giles the rat, all of a sudden this evening he started intermittent wheezing,He doesn't seem overly distressed and is still taking treats so I've called the vet and she's advised me to keep a close eye over night and I've got him in first thing in the morning!He's nearly 2 now so I guess this is probably the time he will start to get poorly,I've had a lucky run with him so far not being poorly until now!His cage will be getting a make over tomorrow by getting rid of all the hay!I will try some of the hemp bedding suggested too!


----------



## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

You might need to get Giles in for some Baytril. Especially at that age, respiratory infections and myco flareups can escalate quickly. Get well soon little one!


----------

