My Pet Rat- Mercedes.

Question
I have two pet rats- one male, and one female. I recently noticed my female rat, Mercedes has developed these red sores behind her front paw but farther up. They seem like red, brown crust? At first, I thought this may have been her waste getting stuck to her paw. I did not spot clean for a bit. I use carefresh white bedding there are no signs of blood. I was thinking I should give her a bath or let her walk in some warm tap water just to wash it out if it is a skin reaction to her urine? She does clean herself a lot and she is a climber in her cage. I hope this made sense, if not please let me know. Also... what shampoo do you recommend? Dry or liquid? I am going to start to wipe them with baby wipes.. especially their tails. Let me know thanks.  

Answer
I am not real clear on what you mean. Did the sores go away once you put her in water?

Does she have excessive porphyrin discharge around her eyes and nose that she could have wiped on her paws during grooming?

As for bathing...its not necessary to bathe rats unless it is done for medicinal purposes. Bathing dries out the skin from its natural oils and causes excessive itching from dry skin.  You can wipe her with unscented babywipes sometimes, but again, it  may dry her skin especially if it contains alcohol. Dipping the tail in a warm soapy water using hibicleanse that is obtained over the counter is good to use for
antiseptic purposes.