Is this amount of porphyrin normal in an older rat?
Hi, everyone! This is my first rat, his name is Masik (in my language, it means something like “little one”). I rescued him a few months ago when he was 2 years old from poor conditions in a very small cage. He’s very cute and friendly, but shy, timid, and reserved. For a long time, he wouldn’t come out of his cage and was getting used to his new home. I immediately bought him a large cage, a tunnel, hammocks, tied together some netting, and created a four-level space. I started using the right bedding in the litter tray. He sneezed a lot and frequently during the cold winter, so I consulted an online veterinarian who specializes in exotic animals and rodents. A course of nebulizer inhalations was prescribed. And Masik found this very frightening: he screamed, squealed, banged against the walls, and chewed on the container and himself out of fear. He stopped coming out of his cage again and started to be afraid of me. I told the vet that the inhalations were doing more harm than good, so we revised the treatment plan, and I gave my little friend a course of nasal drops. Now he hardly sneezes at all—maybe 1–3 times a day, and not even every day. I have no objective complaints. He was also covered in sores, but I treated him for parasites by the book last month. He’s become much cleaner, neater, softer, and no longer smells terrible. I try to take care of him by the book: I feed him an expensive grain mix for rats every day, along with vegetables, and sometimes fruits, berries, eggs, and shrimp. I wash his towels and the surfaces in his cage every 2–3 days, and I give the cage a thorough cleaning once a week. He gets very anxious during these times and grabs my hand with his paws to stop me from touching anything. I also bought a humidifier. I bought him a playpen, some plumbing pipes, and various toys; his cage is left open inside the playpen, and he runs out whenever he wants. But he’s still very wary of the world around him. He’s incredibly happy when I pet him inside the cage, and he does bruxing everyday. He’s very cautious outside his cage; he rarely comes out, and when he does, it’s only for a short while before he runs right back inside. I understand that his old way of life has left a mark that’s impossible to shake off, and I accept and respect that. He enjoys it most when I reach my hand through the cage to interact with him, and I enjoy spending time with him, even if it’s just like this. I often check his body for any lumps or wounds—even though he’s very afraid of this and even squeaks in fear—I do it to make sure everything is okay. I know I should take him to the clinic for a checkup, but please understand—it would be so stressful for him that I’m afraid of losing his trust, his joy, or—worst of all—him, since he’s already an old man. The trip would also be long, since I live in a house in the countryside. Visually, he looks perfectly fine and is very happy, but whenever he wakes up, there’s a lot of porphyrin on his nose, which he wipes off after a couple of minutes, and his nose is clean. Everywhere online says that some amount of porphyrin after sleeping is normal, but I’m not sure how to gauge how much. Also, after sleeping, he always hiccups for about a minute. Experienced rat owners, please tell me, is this just old age? And should I take him to the clinic, knowing how much it will upset him, or, if his condition isn’t getting worse, can I let him continue living his comfortable life as it is?