Itching and Scratching

[StrawberryTheRat]

Hello, How do I know if what my rat is doing is scratching or grooming. I never thought too much about it and I’m a first time rat parent but after joining this forum now I’m wondering if he might have mites or some kind of nutritional deficiency? He’s often stopping in the middle of us playing to stop and groom/scratch for minutes at a time. Even when he’s walking around my room he’s constantly stopping to do it. I am starting to be overwhelmed by everything I don’t know about rats and need to learn. I added a video to YouTube, sorry it’s a couple minutes long but just wanted to show how he’s constantly stopping to scratch....now I’m itchy thinking about it! Thank you.

Edit: I’ve just been reading up because I can’t figure out how he would have gotten mites. He’s not gone anywhere and I don’t know anyone else with rats. So I read something about paper bedding and I’ve been letting him sleep in a little cardboard box. He loves it. Could mites come from there? Also I don’t see or feel any scabs.

 

[ReepacheepTheRat]

My instinct is mites or something like this. It could be he had them when you got him, got it from something at the pet store or wherever. Mites are honestly really common. Could also just be skin irritation from something in his environment he's not used to. It could even make sense to change bedding and wait a few weeks to see if it clears up since this could be irritating his skin.

Definitely something that should be mentioned at some time but no need to over worry about this and rush into a vet appointment unless he starts getting bald spots. Rats get this sometimes, I would just recommend mentioning it to your vet the next time he goes. Hope being a first time rat owner is going well!