Pet Rat Eye Infection

Eye infections are no fun to deal with. At all. Rats are much more susceptible to eye infections than we are, as they live in close quarters with their own waste. They don’t have quite as clean of environments as humans do. While a dirty environment can have a lot to do with any infection, an eye infection for a rat does not necessarily mean that the human owner is at fault. They do just happen sometimes, and all we can do is treat them properly!

Soothing Irritated Eyes: Over the Counter

Since most of you who visit this page have a rat with an active infection, I wanted to offer a quick soothing treatment for the very moment. Before allowing the rat to suffer for days to weeks, try using preservative free tears like these. This cheap, safe tear solution will allow you to gently rinse the rat’s eyes in between disposable cold compresses. Since many mild eye infections clear up on their own, it is an excellent idea to have these, Q-Tips, and homemade cold compresses readily available. They are also helpful in rinsing eyes with severe infections as well.

How Do You Know If your Pet Rat Has an Eye Infection?

Rat eyes should always be well rounded, bright, clear, moist, and free of porphyrin. If they are not, there could be issues ahead! A bit of porphyrin is not a major cause for alarm, but it needs to be monitored. Just like humans, illness can set in slowly. If the eye is becoming swollen, there is clearly something irritating or infecting the eye. If the eye seems to have a break or in it (like a scratch) it is safe to assume that they eye WILL become infected. This means you would go to your vet, get the proper antibiotics, and start them before the rat has a chance to lose its eye.

How to Treat Pet Rat Eye Infections

Pet rat eye infections can be easy to treat, so long as the infection is only a bacterial problem. If there is something lodged in the eye, it becomes drastically more complicated. If one of the eyes is lost due to any infection, then the rat’s vision will be greatly reduced; including its amazing binocular vision (it’s really cool! They have an eye on the area above them at ALL times!). Now that we know we have to get something done, let’s get down to procedure! Be prepared for the rat to put up a fight, as you can rest assured that she or he will NOT be feeling very good.