Nicked ears - fairly common?

[rhapsody]

During playtime last night, I noticed that my baby berk got a small notch in his ear. No major damage, but I feel bad since its the first time that's happened to any of my rats .

Is it fairly common for a rat's ears to get beat up over the span of its lifetime?

 

[jorats]

It sure is normal. Some of it is part of play, so not necessarily beaten up, more like rough housing.

 

[Godmother]

I believe that some breeders clip ears to mark males vs females. I recall seeing a few females from pet stores who hd a notch, whereas none of the pet store surprise rats' babies have had notches.

 

[lilspaz68]

the feeder breeder notch is very uniform in shape...an irregular nick happens all the time

 

[TheRatQueen]

I have a few that have ear nicks! Very common!

 

[sands]

One of my rats received a priecing in her ear from her cage mate.

 

[kelsey514]

I have had 2 out of 9 with ear holes, and never from a serious fight. I think they're adorable

 

[Nekopan]

I had one that got nicked as a baby, and a rat that almost got his ear torn off later in life. It was about half ripped, but you couldn't really tell just by looking at him.