Layla has a curly tail? Anyone know why?

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jenniferkelley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
314
Location
Toronto, ON
I took this video the other day, it has 3 clips in it. First clip is just her walking around, second is the same thing, and then the third is a clip showing how when she gets pinned by another rat her tail un curls and goes flat to the ground. At any other time, her tail is always curled.

http://s1135.photobucket.com/albums/m62 ... lyTail.mp4

I've googled this already and everyone says wheelie tail (stuck like that due to running on the wheel), but she has never had a wheel - ever. Does anyone know what this means, or why she does it? It kind of reminds me of a cat. :p
 
Never ever had a wheel? You've had Layla her whole life? Wow that sure looks like a wheelie tail, I have never seen a rat that had a curled tail for any other reason. They learn to carry their tails like this as its more comfortable when running. I have one like that as well, but she's a wheel fanatic LOL
 
lilspaz68 said:
Never ever had a wheel? You've had Layla her whole life? Wow that sure looks like a wheelie tail, I have never seen a rat that had a curled tail for any other reason. They learn to carry their tails like this as its more comfortable when running. I have one like that as well, but she's a wheel fanatic LOL
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I got her when she was 8 weeks old, but I worked at the Humane Society before I even got them and they never had a wheel then, and I never got them a wheel once I adopted them! :p It's so weird, it's like a cat when they're happy! hahaha
 
one of my girls has a wheelie tail, and while I do have a silent spinner, I have never seen her in it

of course I am not watching them 24/7 so there's a chance Paige and Evie let her use the wheel sometimes (my two PEWs Paige and daughter Evie, adore the wheel and use it for hours at a time- and they don't have wheelie tails :lol: )


wheelie tailed Brenna by catnapt, on Flickr
 
The rats I had with a curly tail were big time wheel runners...interesting to see what more experienced rat people have to say about your girl!
 
oops, I finally caught Brenna with the wheelie tail in the wheel! she gets in it WITH Paige or Evie :lol:

I think I need to get another wheel- 6 girls, four of them under a year old- yep, need a second wheel!!
 
jorats said:
That looks like what that breeder was breeding,t hose curly tailed rats... might be part of the genetic makeup.
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You could be right, I remember when I first got my rats, someone and I were talking on here ( I think it was lilspaz) and she was telling me how there was a breeder in durham/toronto that was breeding rats that have skinnier noses - therefore more prone to URI as their breathing passages are tighter together? Anyways, that is a possibility I never even thought of (genetics) although her sister doesn't have it . :p
 
Petunia said:
oops, I finally caught Brenna with the wheelie tail in the wheel! she gets in it WITH Paige or Evie :lol:

I think I need to get another wheel- 6 girls, four of them under a year old- yep, need a second wheel!!
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Caught her in the act! :p At least her curly tale has a reasoning behind it!
 
Heya guys... quick question for you all. My ratties had babies about 2 weeks ago. They have their eyes open and are movin around and I've started just kinda playing around with them a little bit each day to get them used to human interaction. One of them (currently and temporarily called Cappy) has a totally prehensile tail! Its curly-qed and he can wrap it around your finger totally and hang off my pinky!! His parents are both Dumbo eared berkshire rex rats and have normal tails... Is this a birth defect or a normal variation?!
 
Rats can definitely use their tails to hang on or help keep their balance.
But not sure if it's a birth defect... I remember once a breeder was purposely breeding curly tailed rats. It didn't look healthy to me though.
 
That looks like a really bad wheelie tail but I guess the science of heredity makes more sense in your case. Why anyone would breed to get this result is a mystery to me. :?
 

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