Tail grooming

[sands]

My almost 2 year old female rat Mishka has started grooming the end of her tail. I haven't seen her or my two younger rats do this before. Is this part of normal grooming behavior? I don't notice anything different on her tail and it isn't sensitive to touch.

Thank you!

 

[lilspaz68]

Grooming is actually a succession of movements.

from http://www.ratbehavior.org/Glossary.htm#CCG

Cephalocaudal groom ("CCG"): Grooming sequence of face and body (common to all rodents). The rat starts by licking the paws, then rubs them over the head. This is followed by licking and rubbing the side of the body, the anogenital region, and the tail. The sequence may be anywhere from loosely organized to very stylized, performed in a similar or identical fashion each time. In rats, most sequences appear to be loosely organized. The grooming sequence may be interrupted at any point, and it seems that rats usually stop before grooming their tails.

Some rats have the cleanest tails...some have clean bases (they work towards the tip) and the rest is gross...these rats stop. Has your girl always had a nice clean tail or is this new to her?

 

[sands]

Grooming is actually a succession of movements.

from http://www.ratbehavior.org/Glossary.htm#CCG

Cephalocaudal groom ("CCG"): Grooming sequence of face and body (common to all rodents). The rat starts by licking the paws, then rubs them over the head. This is followed by licking and rubbing the side of the body, the anogenital region, and the tail. The sequence may be anywhere from loosely organized to very stylized, performed in a similar or identical fashion each time. In rats, most sequences appear to be loosely organized. The grooming sequence may be interrupted at any point, and it seems that rats usually stop before grooming their tails.

Some rats have the cleanest tails...some have clean bases (they work towards the tip) and the rest is gross...these rats stop. Has your girl always had a nice clean tail or is this new to her?

Her tail has always been clean, but she has never cleaned it before until recently. The last time I noticed a change in grooming was this summer when she had lice after her cage mate became sick and had to be PTS.

 

[Cinderwolf]

Oh how I wish my rats would clean their own tails. I spent and hour yesterday making them silky and white.