Rat fights!!!

Question
I have a couple of male rats that I bought about three months ago. During that time we have closely bonded, but I have noticed recently that the bigger one has scabs on his chin, near his ears, a couple on his back, and on his front legs. I thing they have been squabbling at night- the loser always gets groomed. What do I do to prevent further injury? My mom says no vets unless they are fatally damaged. I'm hoping not to have to separate them, because I don't have another cage for them. They still like to cuddle and play, so it's not like they hate each other or anything. Also, the big one has an odd tail. The tip of it has turned whit and split, and he is losing "scales" near the tip of the tail. I did a squeeze test (I squeezed the uninjured one's tail and he didn't react, but when I squeezed the injured ones tail, the tail tensed and he squeaked) WHAT"S GOING ON? Please answer fast! Thank you!

Answer
Have you seen them fight?  This is pretty normal for males to play fight etc.. but perhaps the scabs are from something else?

Most of the time they get along just fine though.  How old are they?


Also, what type of food do they eat? Sometimes a diet high in protein, esp the garbage seed mix that petstores push on unknowing innocent customers and these seed mixes are the worst food you can feed rats. It is loaded with protein and fats and can cause skin problems like scabs around the face and neck and head, and also causes kidney disease and heart disease down the road as they age.  let me know about their diet and we can go from there.

The tail...I would rub a dab of antibiotic ointment on the split part and also feed him a cracker piece with a blob of olive oil on it. Do this once a day for a week or so and see if this helps the dried up scales on his tail. You dont want to smoother the tail with oil or it can hinder his tail from doing its job, which is to regulate body temp.

I dont think you need a vet, so dont worry about that part.