Female rat- traces of blood in bedding?

Question

I have a 1.5 year old female rat. Over the last week I have noticed traces of blood in her house/bedding. Im not sure where it is coming from - she looks healthy, is eating,drinking and playing as normal. Her eyes, nose,mouth,ears and bum area all look clean? I will clean her cage again tomorrow and if I notice more over the weekend I will take her to the vets. Does anyone know what this could be??

Answer 1

I'll preface everything I'm going to be writing with this: I am not a vet, merely an avid rat lover and former rat owner. If you are really worried, the best thing to do is to talk with your vet, since he or she should know best what questions to ask you and what signs to look for.

That said, here's my take. The first thing I thought of was porphyrin. This is a red mucous that rats sometimes discharge from their eyes and nose due to stress or a respiratory infection. Often, you'll notice red crusted at rats' eyes or nose, but if the infection is in the early stages you might just see what you have been - spotting on the bedding. Is your cage by a wall? Mine was, and I noticed that there would be blood-like spotting on the walls from where my rats would sneeze the porphyrin everywhere. The rat I had that was most prone to respiratory infections also tended to have wrists covered in crusty red color, since she would wipe her nose that way.

The porphyrin option would fit with your description that there are only traces of "blood" and that your rat otherwise appears healthy. One source I saw said that porphyrin is flourescent under UV light, but I don't know if that's true (http://wererat.net/ratfacts.htm, http://www.ratbehavior.org/BlackLight.htm), since I never tried it myself.

Another possibility it urinary/uterine bleedding, which is often discovered by finding blood in the bedding (see the second link in my source list). If this is what's wrong with your rat, you need to see a vet as soon as possible.

Good luck with your rat - hopefully this is just porphyrin and the worst you will need to deal with is feeding her antibiotics.

Answer 2

RATS DO NOT HAVE MONTHLY PERIODS!! Please do not listen to the person who told you it could just be that. The rest of her answers were okay, but rats go into heat every 3-4 days and do not have periods.

If she has access to males, bleeding could be a sign of a miscarriage or labor. At her age, though, breeding her would put her life at risk.

If there are no males around, and because of her age, she may have uterine tumors-- unless she is fixed, of course. Because of her age I would absolutely take her to the vet and make sure they don't just dismiss you. Not a lot of vets are familiar with rats and therefore may not know what to do. Try to find a small animal or exotic vet in your area if you don't have one already.

Also, try doing an internet search for "vaginal bleeding" + "pet rat" and you should find some good info. I had a similar issue recently, but my girl just had a miscarriage.

Good luck to you and your rattie!

Answer 3

Check for any anal and urethral {coming from urine or bladder} bleeding... if there is blood coming from her anus she may have a hernia or ruptured some kind of intestine... if from urine or "peehole" it could be from kidney stones, a urinary tract infection of something more serious and any gashes or cuts anywhere on her.... If one of these seems to be the source, take her to the vet... if none of the above is occurring its just her monthly period. and is nothing to worry about!

Answer 4

Does she have a mate? Has she been in heat? I had mice once but I do not recall what they do. Maybe she is bored and chewing on herself.