Tail Cleaning I have everything set up before I grab the first rat.  I lay a dish towel on the counter next to the sink, get out my extra soft toothbrush that I use just for tail cleaning, fill a small dish with mild dish soap, get a small towel to dry tails, and have warm water running from the faucet.   Then I get the first rat.  I bend over the sink, holding him against my front, massaging his back and smooching on his head while his tail is dangling under the running water.  They usually don't even notice that I'm soaking their tails because I'm giving them a massage the whole time.   The next step is when I get my battle wounds.  :-)  Some of them just sit there and let me do whatever I want to their tails and others are constantly trying to claw their way up my arms to safely.  I hold them very firmly with my left hand so that their tail is lying on the dishtowel.  I wet the toothbrush, dip it in the dish soap and start brushing their tail from their bottom to the tip of their tail over and over again, rewetting and resoaping the brush occasionally.   When I've cleaned off the gunk (some of them never come completely clean), then I hold them to my chest again, massaging their back and kissing their little heads while their tail is draped under the running water.  One firm swipe with the drying towel and lots of loving on the way back to the ratroom and it's on to the next rat. To link to this page: http://www.raisinrats.com/medical/tail.html