# cutting off of tales i mean WTF



## Spud_The_Rat (Jan 28, 2018)

so.... one day my bf is like im ready for a pet. im like great ive been begging for a pet for years now. we go to the pet store buy 100s$ in pet supplies. he looks online finds a breeder with older rats ( we want to give some a better home) we go to pick them up. this guy has a ton of rats! i mean a ton. all living in a huge cage.taking over a two car garage. all super healthy happy rats some a little bit fat i wont lie then i notice all their tales are different lengths. i ask him about it. apparently he takes nail clippers to their tales shortly after their born. i take my two older rats home. take them to the vet. she says nothing other then they are healthy. i think maybe their tales are closely related to dogs( still cuel to do) but i think noing
of it then i notice my rats get over heated fast( they sit below a air vent) and my youngest cant stand on his back legs with out falling over. as the rats have grown so has their tales but its not natural. they are clumsy. falling out of their bed...struggling to make it in their beds ... i hate him for hurting them but hate him even more for making it so they cant fully enjoy their lives as free roaming fat rats


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

That is really sad. I would report the breeder to the rspca or whatever your countries equivalent is. That method of docking is inhumane and cruel. I don't agree with mutilating any animals body for looks but docking a rats tail is even worse than docking a dogs tail because a rats tail is important to them in order to function properly. Its like a 5th limb and they can't move and balance naturally without it.


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## Lunchy (Aug 28, 2017)

That is awful. Any breeder who knows anything about rats knows that the tails are so important, it allows them to balance and helps them regulate their temperature. I agree with Fu-Inle, I'd report that. That's mutilation with absolutely no purpose.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Also, saying its for "safety" is just twisted. If a rats safety is so much of an issue that they have to cut of part of its body; that tells me that the enviroment is not suitable to house rats in the first place. If rats are getting their tails caught in in the cage and hurting themselves then the problem is the cage not the tail. To alter their body before altering their cage is just lazy and so messed up.


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## Kathryn Ann (Mar 30, 2020)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! That is unbelievable, I would have yelled at the breeder, yes some people might think the tails are ugly ( I think their tails are adorable) But that is just wrong. Their tales are there for a reason!


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