Can a rats tail be docked?

Here’s what a rat’s tail does…from…

http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatTails.htm

Thermoregulation

The rat’s tail has a thermoregulatory function: it serves as a heat-loss organ. The tail is well suited for this purpose, because it has no fur, has a large surface to volume ratio, and is perfused with many blood vessels, especially at the tail tip and midlength (Yulong et al. 1995). The rat’s tail comprises only 5% of the rat’s surface area, but it can dissipate about 17% of the rat’s body heat (Monson and Oyama 1984).

Rats control their body temperature through their tails by dilating or constricting their tail blood vessels. When the rat’s body temperature rises by a few degrees, the tail vessels (especially the veins) swell – called vasodilation – permitting lots of warm blood to flow through the tail (Vanhoutte et al. 2002). The warm blood loses heat through the surface of the tail and returns to the body at a lower temperature, thus cooling the rat. The warmer the rat, the more blood flows through the tail, and the more heat is lost (Thompson and Stevenson 1965, Little and Stoner 1968, Rand et al. 1965, Raman et al. 1987).

When the rat’s body temperature drops, the tail vessels shrink in diameter – called vasoconstriction – thus restricting blood flow to the tail (Owens et al. 2002). Less blood flows into the tail for cooling, and body heat is conserved.

Rats use their tails for balance. They climb ropes and anchor chains, they walk along fences and telephone wires and branches, and their tails help them balance.

The tail can also help change the center of gravity of the rat, though this change will remain small because the tail weighs so little. In the photograph to the right, the rat is holding on to the rope with his hind legs, and his forequarters and tail are hanging below and to either side of the rope. The rat’s center of gravity is low and close to the rope. A low center of gravity makes balancing easier, because a larger rotation is required to tip the rat over.