Is my rat bleeding from the eyes during his bath?

So I have another question.

I now have 3 rats, two of them are the typical black and white ones that the pet shop sells, and the third one is an albino.

They have a cage, and a litter box in the corner, and are allowed to roam about the house as they please. They are absolutely wonderful rats, well-trained to come when called, and use the litter box. And the just adore cuddling up on the couch for t.v. with mommy =^.^=

But, wonderful as they are, they can get that rat-stink after a week or two. So when it gets to the point of being too noticeable, I give them a bath.

How I do this is by filling the tub with warm water, only an inch or two deep. Then I take each rat, get him wet under the gentle stream of warm water from the spout, then lather him up with baby shampoo (I read in a rat book that the baby shampoo is perfectly fine for rats, as it's gentle and won't irritate them), and rinse him off. Then I put them in a box full of towels to play in while they dry off.

They do squirm quite a bit when I do this, the black and white ones just enough to show discomfort, but the albino one (Doc), he squirms so badly that I actually drop him into the water sometimes, with rat-scratches all over my hands. He REALLY hates taking these baths! Unfortunately, he gets just as stinky as the other two. I'm as gentle as I can be for this, but I'm getting concerned because he appears to be bleeding from the eyes.

I'm not sure if it's just him, or if the other two do as well and I just can't see it due to their black faces. But this red liquid comes out of Doc's eyes, and stains his face red. And when he shakes off, you can see red splatter on the walls of the tub and in the towels.

I've heard somewhere that there is a red pigment in rat's tears, and he could just be crying. But I'm wondering... is it possible that he IS bleeding from the eyes? Is there some other way to bathe my rats without causing this? Or is it just tears, perhaps due to distress, and therefore nothing to worry about?

I absolutely adore my rats, and don't like to hurt them... I figured a bath every week and a half or so wouldn't be too bad, as it's only a few minutes long, and only seemed to cause them some discomfort. Any advice on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

sounds just like porphyrin. rats usually get it when something is maybe stressing them out or they are off-colour.
http://www.ratclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php...
this is a really good rat website that i belong to, i've learnt heaps of important stuff about rats here.

i gave my pet rat a bath and i dropped him and i think he had blood coming from his eyes...
i am very scared and would like some advice

Generally rats don't need baths but it can be done, however, be prepared to show your battle wounds.

Becka, how far a drop was it and did he land on his feet?
The 'blood' you saw coming from his eyes was simply porphyrin and is the color of tears for rats. Not that he was crying it's what happens when they are stressed.

I have my rat a bath yesters and her eye started bleeding. it tripped me out cus i thought soap got in there but it didnt. as she was rubbing her self dry she scratched her eye and thats what caused her to bleed. other than that it was all good.

honestly, you guys really need to not give your rats baths. and if you are going to, not every week. come on..obviously if the rat has become stressed out then it is a sign they should not be bathed so often. rats clean themselves often, and therefore do not need baths. when a rat has red by its eyes, they DO NOT LIKE what is happening. it is unnecessary to bathe them.

i have a rat and i gaive it a bath and i used baby shamp and i got scare becuase is eye had red coming out of in i am olny 12 years old and i just want to now why that happend

Don't worry it's phorphin. Rats get it when they r stressed. Don't give your rats so Many baths. If they r in a clean environment they shouldn't be that dirty. Honestly they wash themselves and most rats(not all) don't enjoy water even though I've seen some rats swim for fun, just keep the cage clean and if u feel u NEED to clean up your rats jus wipe them Down with a wet paper towel. Itll b alot less stressful

dont get freaked out or anything if you see red stuff in/around your rats eyes and nose, they have red snot and tears. :P

haille hansen wrote:

i have a rat and i gaive it a bath and i used baby shamp and i got scare becuase is eye had red coming out of in i am olny 12 years old and i just want to now why that happend

i did the exact same thing today and my rat started having red liquied comeing out if her eyes too but i figured out its this thing called porphyrin its caused by and infection not serios thou and some rats get streesed out by it but some dont u shouldnt worry abought it to much just have a very calm enviorment for the next little while and im 12 too haha thats funny

I put a large dog bowl with water in out for my rats so they can wash them selves I only give them baths in the summer I fill the bath with a little water I bath at least 2 at a time so they dont get stressed but my rats love the water as ive done this from a young age ive only had one rat that had red stuff in his eyes but he had it all his life and no medicine ever got rid of it he live till he was nearly3 so its nothing to worry about just give them water to play in so they get used to it and no need to bath them loads once a month at most :-)

my rat has has sores on his back feet and is not walking right on them and has lost weight can anyone tell me wht might be goin on with him do u think i need to take him to the vet?

He most likely has bumble foot. I would defently say you should take him to the vet. It stinks when that happens. :(