# Treating a Scaly Tail?



## CosmicKat62 (Nov 24, 2014)

So my rat's tail is very scaly and some of the scales are peeling off, and when I researched it, I found this website. http://www.ratfanclub.org/skin.html 

The part on tails is down near the bottom in the "dryness" section, and Remy's tail look exactly like the first tail picture. The website says to pick or scrub off the scales because they're excess unshed scales, but I don't know, would it hurt him?

Like I said, some of the scales are already peeling off but would doing it so forcefully damage it or something?

An advice or opinions would be much appreciated.


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

If you do remove the excess scales, soak his tail in warm water to soften it and use a mild safe soap like dawn dishsoap and a very soft toothbrush to gently scrup the tail. Make sure you only brush from base to tip. It's OK if not many scales come off at first. But just be sure to not brush backwards. This could cause impactions or jam dirt and filth into the crevices between scales.

One of our girls when she was new had this problem too. I would wipe a paper towel that had coconut or olive oil soaked on, onto to tail all over. This should help hydrate the skin. Doing this after a warm water soak will be especially helpful to moisturize. Be sure to not coat the tail since rats control their body temps through their tail, you don't want to totally smother the tail with oil. You want it to still be able to "breathe". It takes a while, but after a couple weeks, he should be looking much better. I hope this helps! It seemed to help my girl.


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## CosmicKat62 (Nov 24, 2014)

Thanks, Finnebon!


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