Pet rat Chewing the end of her tail.

Question
I would like to know how to keep my pet rat from chewing on the end of her tail.  she currently has a wound on her tail that looks like she has bitten a piece of her tail out at the very tip.  i found it this way this morning and it was actually bleeding.  Why is she doing this.  she has been eating her food, and using a chewables, to keep her teeth worn down...very confused

Answer


Sounds like she may have gotten it caught in something and it pulled the top layer of skin off. This is called degloving and is pretty painful. She is probably chewing it due to the discomfort. It has nothing to do with her teeth.  In fact, although its ok to give her things to gnaw on since they love to gnaw by nature, rats do NOT have to have something to chew on to keep their teeth worn down. Some mammals do, but rats do not.  They grind their teeth naturally when they eat and chew.  When they brux, this also grinds their teeth down to keep them at a comfortable level.  Any problems with over growth is a result of malocclusion, which is usually genetic.  

Clean her tail with some saline solution and dab neosporin ointment on it.  Once it starts to feel better she should leave it alone.