![]() An excess of porphyrin is caused by illness, stress or poor diet so should always be investigated if you notice it on your rat. The red secretions dry on the rat’s face and nostrils (as the red porphyrin drains out through a rat’s nose as well) and causes dark red staining and crusts, which can be alarming as it looks similar to blood.Ī healthy rat will produce porphyrin at varying levels throughout its life, cleaning it off regularly so it’s never usually noticeable. Ĭhromodacryorrhea – red tears – is a condition rats can suffer from when they have an overproduction of these tears from the harderian glands, which are similar to tear ducts, situated in their eyes. Why Does My Rat Cry Red Tears?Īnother reason you might be wondering why your rat has red eyes is because of porphyrin. However, rat’s eyes do reflect some light, giving their eyes a red glow due to light reflecting off of blood vessels in the eye (much the same as humans – we get red eye when our picture is taken with a camera flash for the same reason). Rat’s don’t have the reflective surface behind their retina (called the tapetum lucidum) that cats and dogs do, which can give them bright eyes in the dark. This is different from true albinism as rats with pink eye dilute will still have some pigment in their fur, giving it a light but warm cast as yellow and red pigment is still present. The pink eye dilute gives rats their pink and bright red eye color. Due to this mutation affecting the blood as well as pigment however, some rats with ruby eye dilute will suffer from blood clotting disorders. The ruby eye dilute gives rats their ruby-red eyes and warm fur colours, caused by a recessive gene mutation. ![]() This is because red and pink eyes occur due to mutations in the rat’s genes, called ‘dilutes’, which change the color of a rat’s eyes and fur. ![]() Generally, a rat’s eye color will determine its variety. Red eyed rats often have light coloured fur, while ruby eyed rats have a much darker red eye colour, which is paired with slightly darker coat colors. Ruby eyes are different from true pink eyes, as ruby eyed rats still have some pigment in their eyes and fur. Some albino rat owners (and ruby-eyed rat owners) see their rats ‘swaying’ their heads, this is thought to be the rat trying to increase their depth perception of certain objects, or before jumping across a gap! Pink vs Ruby Eyes ![]() Rods and photoreceptors allow animals to see in low light, and due to the decreased amount in albino rats, they have problems with depth perception and visual acuity. While this color contrast is striking, albino rats often can’t see as well as rats with ruby or black eyes, due to fewer rods and photoreceptors in their eyes. Their pink-red eyes are caused by light bouncing off the blood vessels in their eyes, giving them a distinctive hue that earns them the name pink eyed white in the rat fancy community.Īlbinism happens in every mammal species (including humans), and occurs due to a genetic mutation. This particular colouring is called albinism, and is caused by a total lack of pigment in the body.Īlbino rats have none of the pigment melanin in their skin, eyes or fur. The most classic image of a rat (unfortunately, lab rats) is one of snow white fur and bright pink eyes. ![]()
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