Why is my rat having involuntary spasms in his tail?

Question

My 1 1/2 year old boy rat has started having involuntary spasms in his tail. It has gradually gotten more frequent. He will be fine one moment and then his tail will whip around very fast and then its over. When he is resting it rarely moves. I checked him all out and he looks fine. He is eating and running as normal. His demeanor hasnt changed. Aside from being annoyed it doesnt seem to be affecting him. Why is happening?

Answer 1

Does it resemble a snake or earthworm - as in it looks like it has a life of its own or wriggling?  Or is a it a full on whip from side to side?  

I dont know for sure but i would put my chances on it being annoyed at something or horny.  

I've witnessed two of my rats do a freaky tail wiggle.  First time was when i introduced to males together and the less dominant one would do it when i was patting him and he was desperate to get to the other boy to 'hump him'

The 2nd time was a different rat doing the tail wiggle when he was annoyed because his brother was tormenting him.

Apart from that perhaps your rat has suffered a back injury and its affecting his tail.  If it continues or is really severe perhaps see a vet

Answer 2

They are not involuntary spasms. Rats use a variety of body language to communicate. I have only seen this in a couple of my male rats, but from what I have seen out of them, this tail flicking is used when they wish to communicate some sort of a "caution" to other rats, such as when they find themselves in a new place and aren't sure about how safe it is. Usually, they will flick their ears as well, but sometimes it's just the tail.

I have no idea why this isn't really common in all rats, many rat owners didn't know what I was talking baout when I tried explaining it to them, but I do know that this is natural behaviour. At least, this is what two seperate vets told me when I was looking in to it.

The tail is a very stiff and strong part of their body, so muscular spasms are unlikely in that area. I would not worry.