scratched ear

Question
My friend 'Grimm' (a rat)has been using his toes to scratch inside his ears lately. And today he managed to cause on to bleed just inside below where the lobe meets his skull. It seems to have stopped. And i did clean his fur and outer ear to see where the blood was coming from.
I was wondering if this is something i seriously should worry about. Or is it something that happens now and then?

Answer
Hi Bill

It would not be fair for me to say that he doesnt have something going on inside his ear without first checking out inside of his ear, having a visual of the tympanic membrane (ear drum) and noting any type of inflammation or polyps etc.. In many cases, the rat may have excess wax that makes his ear itch and his long toenails may hit a blood vessel during scratching that could have caused the bleeding.  He could have an ear infection or even polyps, which is why if this continues he should see a vet.  Do you have a good vet for your rat?  If mot, let me know your location and I will give you some names of vets that treat rats, usually EXOTIC vets.