Tail thumping?

So, I have a rat that had such a strong will to live(he jumpedout of two BP tubs during feeding) ........so I let him. :D I named him "Templeton" cause he's such a junk food junkie.:P Anyways, evey am and pm I pick him up, let him sit on my shoulder for a bit, and pet him, and give him peanut butter cookies. Well, this morning, while I was petting him in his tub, he started thumping his tail. I've seem the tail thumping before when I used to breed rats, but this was ususally when males were acting agressive toward one another. He was enjoying the petting, and he wasn't trying to bit me, or anything. In fact, he tilted his head while I scratched under his cheeks, clearly indicating he liked it. But why would he thump his tail at me? Perhaps someone with much more rat experience than I knows about this......(help? plz?)

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

So, I have a rat that had such a strong will to live(he jumpedout of two BP tubs during feeding) ........so I let him. :D I named him "Templeton" cause he's such a junk food junkie.:P Anyways, evey am and pm I pick him up, let him sit on my shoulder for a bit, and pet him, and give him peanut butter cookies. Well, this morning, while I was petting him in his tub, he started thumping his tail. I've seem the tail thumping before when I used to breed rats, but this was ususally when males were acting agressive toward one another. He was enjoying the petting, and he wasn't trying to bit me, or anything. In fact, he tilted his head while I scratched under his cheeks, clearly indicating he liked it. But why would he thump his tail at me? Perhaps someone with much more rat experience than I knows about this......(help? plz?)

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Like you said, tail thumping is generally considered a sign of aggression or dominance. That being said, I have seen a few tail thump for other issues. You might have just hit his itchy spot and it could be compared to a dog kicking it's leg.

If I had to guess, I'd say it might have been a dominance issue. He might have just been telling you he was boss.

Also, something you mentioned caught my attention. Does he head tilt often? It could be an inner ear infection or the spot you touched him could have been painful (tooth ache, etc), thus the tail thumping.

If he isn't doing it often, I wouldn't worry. Just keep an eye on him. :)

The guy that you got him from probably just raised him to be a jerk LOL.

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Originally Posted by tomfromtheshade

The guy that you got him from probably just raised him to be a jerk LOL.

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:rofl:

i believe i read somewhere that its a sign of contentment as well. so that means hes happy with you :)

Also some missed it but they will do the tail when scared/stressed.

he is kind of a scaredy cat. I'll bet it's the scared thing. He even "cringes" whenever I open the treat sac, and it makes a bit of a crinkling noise.

I've seen my mice do it when they are cornered by my bp. Fear :snake: