I've picked up thousands of rats by the tail with no problems ever. However, I do grab them as close as possible to the base of the tail.
Same here. When I was breeding rats, some of the mama rats were okay with me just picking them up under their belly but for the most part my rats were not socialized to be able to do that. I aways just picked them up by the base of their tail.
---=ALLISON=--- "Not everyone is going to agree or listen to what you say but I have learned to do my best to educate and hope they listen in the long run. Just keep trying to educate. There will be people out there that actually do listen and learn. -Me"