Rat with long nails
i know they're not generally considered the most popular pet, but there must be some other rat owners out there whose rat has a problem with long nails. please help, he keeps scratching up his nose!
Answers:This has been an ongoing problem among rat-keepers and their ratties :) A rat's nails are long and sharp and that's normal. Some people have tried putting a brick under the water bottle, and reported that the claws now seem sharper. Sandpaper is a very dangerous product to use with rats. Any tiny cut resulting from the sharpness of the sandpaper will allow a bacteria to settle in the wound and this results in Bumblefoot...very difficult to treat.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=bu...
Clipping your rat's nails is for the most part a two-person event, or a trip to the vet for him to do it for you. To do it yourself get those baby nail clippers,
http://www.baby-wise.com/product_info.ph...
Have someone hold the ratty against their chest so the rat feels supported and squirms less. Look at each claw and do you see where the claw hooks over? Clip the nail forward of the pink quick and remove just the hook of the nail. It might not even be bigger then a grain of sand.
More on clipping rat nails:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=cl...
If he is scratching at his nose excessively he might have a food allergy, or too much protein in his diet. Food allergies make a rat's face itchy.