Something Wrong With Tail or just Dirty??

My two girls that are in the same cage(it's spot cleaned and then thoroughly cleaned once a week) seem to have some dirt on their tails? The other 7 don't have this. I got a natural baby wipe and I can wipe of what seems like yellow scales? I attached a picture of what comes off. It's kinda gross but her tail looks normal underneath them. They are under a year old. What is it? Can I leave it or do I have to scruff them so I can wipe them off? Thanks.

Mine get this sometimes and honestly I thought it was urine caked on because some of them refuse to let me clean their tails and won't do it themselves and their tails just shed the dirty yucky stuff off.....If it is something else I would love to know but I honestly thought it was just from them being lazy and dirty girls/boys

The first wipe was yellow so I'm guessing urine is a part of it. That's gross yet a relief. Comon girls even fatties Matteo and Moose can clean their tails! It's so funny I can deal with boo-boos and wounds but when it comes to nasty dirty stuff I have a problem :lol6:

You can pick that gunk off

Some people will put them in some water and then gently clean the tail with a soft toothbrush.
Tail cleanliness seems to be an individual thing - just like people! LOL

I am about to start making everyone take a bath once a month since it sounds like it will make it easy to clean their tails and keep my PEWs white instead of red and yellow from pee and porph cause just wiping them down with a wet cloth is fun fun and it takes forever to get them decently clean..

RatPack said:

I am about to start making everyone take a bath once a month since it sounds like it will make it easy to clean their tails and keep my PEWs white instead of red and yellow from pee and porph cause just wiping them down with a wet cloth is fun fun and it takes forever to get them decently clean..

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Many people will not suggest this, but make sure you do not get water in there eyes/ears. I know that sounds odd since we let them pea fish...

I have to wash my big boys for buck grease about every 2 months. I guess I will try the toothbrush thing for the girlies

Only on very rare occasions do rats need to be bathed although some rats do like to play in the water so some owners sneak in a bath that way. Just like humans some rats are cleaner than others. If you feel like you need to help them then a baby wipe is sufficient other wise you risk getting water in their ears or nose, not to mention the unnecessary stress. Buck grease is a natural part of having males and washing it off can actually cause them to over produce it to make up for the loss.

What kind of bedding are you using? I agree that the staining looks like urine so a more absorbent bedding should help keep the urine from pooling.

I've always introduced my rats slowly to water and so far, all of them have loved it. I just put a sturdy (un tipp-able) shallow container of water in their play area, float a few toys in it, and they all go and explore it. While I agree, actually bathing a rat may be stressful for them, if you introduce them to water in a play time setting, most actually enjoy it. You can get them to wash themselves this way.

Before doing this, I had no problem getting any dirty tails clean with a damp washcloth. Baby wipes I find are too slippery and not really big enough. Just be sure to wipe from body to tail tip, not the other way.