Rat not grooming herself?

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FattoRatto

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Hey, so when I cleaned my rats cage last week I noticed she had black gunk in her fur. I inspected it closely and determined it was not fleas or mites or anything just smeared poop. (It's not specks or anything, no redness/irritation or scratching, and there's nothing moving it's just matted gunk) I knew she had been laying in the same corner she poops in so I figured she got some on her. I thought it was strange she hadn't groomed this off but thought maybe she has been but it just keeps getting on her when she goes back to the corner. I cleaned her cage, all good but she is still not grooming herself....it's been a while....so I guess she needs a bath, though I have no idea how to accomplish that as she is very skittish so tips there are welcome. Anyways is there something wrong?

Her behavior is totally normal and hasn't changed at all. Her poop didn't look funny looked normal. I haven't been feeding her anything weird, just the occasional fresh fruit/veggie bits.
 
Does she live alone? Most rats get fully cleaned by their buddies in the cage. How old is she? There could be a few reasons why she's no longer grooming... that could be pain, loneliness, illness, stress.
 
jorats said:
Does she live alone? Most rats get fully cleaned by their buddies in the cage. How old is she? There could be a few reasons why she's no longer grooming... that could be pain, loneliness, illness, stress.
Click to expand...

Yes I was wondering if this was the case. Her sister Lulu used to groom her all the time. Lola was never much of a self groomer even when her sister was around, I never saw her groom herself as much as Lulu groomed herself. Sadly Lulu passed away a few months back and I'm at a point in life where it would not be the best choice for me to get another rat. So it could be that she is not keeping as clean because her sister isn't here to forcibly groom her anymore I suppose.

Lola is getting close to 2 years old. She definitely became more timid after her sister's death but after a month or so she seemed to come out of it and has been acting normally again, coming right out of the cage to meet me, sitting on my lap, giving kisses, letting me hold her, doing her tricks, etc. She still spends most of her time when I'm not playing with her hiding, but she did that when Lulu was alive too. She's also actually gained weight w her sister gone as her sister used to eat all the food lol.
 
you can groom her using a warm, damp cloth. You can try brushing her with a soft tooth brush (I have never done it but have read that some do this)

- sounds like she may need a change in what she is being fed
- sounds like she needs to spend a lot more time being active outside of the cage with you
 
I agree with SQ. Warm damp cloth should be good enough to wipe her down and it shouldn't freak her out. I've done the brushing with the toothbrush or small a animal brush and some do like it.
Also, I would place the cage in a busy part of the home so she sees more activity going on. Maybe leaving the radio on when she's alone.
 
Update I went to go clean her but she had cleaned herself all up! I think the issue was she had made her nest in the same corner she liked to poop in so it would get all over her. Her nest is now back in her igloo where she normally makes it and she is nice and clean again!
 

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