[evilcowboy]

Hello, I'm new here. I've search the topics for an answer to my question but was unable to find it. I hope this isn't a repeat post.

I have a male rat, rex coat, hooded. He's about a year old now. His tail bone at the tip is starting to show. He wasn't degloved or injured. It's just slowly showing more and more as time goes by. The meaty part of the tail shrinks up around it. The bone is not turning black it is still very white. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with thier rats and if so is it bad for their health or a natural process? When you touch the tip of his tail he doesn't seem to be in any pain and doesn't mind it at all. It feels very hard and it's very concerning to me.

Thanks.

 

[DonnaK]

Welcome to the forums.

I've never heard of this issue before, but it sounds like you need to get him to a vet. It may be something or nothing, but if it's something and it's serious, rat's can go downhill very fast.

 

[reachthestars]

I've never heard of this type of thing before. It sounds like something that could turn nasty pretty fast, so I'd get him to the vet ASAP.

Does he have a cagemate who might have nibbled on his tail, or anyone in a nearby cage? Pehaps he was chewed on by a wild mouse if you're in an older house?

 

[evilcowboy]

He has a cagemate but he had this all start b4 his cagemate came along. I don't live where a wild mouse could have gotten to him. Thanks for the ideas. Although, I'm wondering now if maybe one of his cagemates at the petstore could have nibbled on it a lil bit b4 I bought him. That certainly could be a possibility because he was in a cage with 5 other rats. It also might have not been noticed by me back then because it's the very tip of his tail. I'm also wondering if by giving him a bath if maybe I might be contributing to the problem by slowly wiping dead skin off his tail. I certainly don't rub his tail hard at all but maybe it's enough to slowly be flaking the previously injured tissue away. I'm definately going to set him up an appointment with his vet. I just thought I would ask in case it was something common. I will give you an update after I get his appointment and take him. Thanks so much for all your help.

 

[OnlyOno]

nope, never heard of it. i doubt it's life-threatening at all. if it's a natural process that his own body is going through, then his body will know to retract nerves and blood vessels first, which will then cause the atropy of the muscle and skin around it. vitamin deficiency is the only thing i can think of, but as long as you're going to take him to the vet anyway, i doubt that you are doing him any harm on your own.

 

[Wench]

Do you bathe him on a regular basis? That's not actually necessary with most rats. If your rat is healthy it will spend a great deal of the day washing itself, and only in the case of stains on coats and serious dirt would you actually need to bathe him.

That being said, my Doris sometimes plops herself in the bath when I'm getting one.

 

[evilcowboy]

Yeah I do actually give him a bath every once in a while. most of the time it is just to clean his tail up. Im going to stop giving him a bath and see if that works out for him. The vet said it was really nothing to worry about. She said it was a bit odd but only if he shows signs of pain should I really worry.

 

[Forensic]

I had a friend whose dog had a tail that did that. They'd caught it in a car door or somesuch and it slowly wasted off.

I think they eventually docked it for cosmetic reasons, but I don't think it ever caused the dog any pain.

 

[lizzydeztic]

a rat i rescued a few months ago has this. she's a little over a year old. i took her to the vet to have a check up when i first got her and i was told not to worry about it. it scares me still though but it hasn't gotten any bigger like you said.

i dunno, if it continues you should probably take him in. keep me posted.