# Rat fountain



## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

So my girls, especially Ruby, love playing in water. They've got a plastic paint tin, the kind you keep your rollers in while you paint a room, and they all swarm me when I change the water each night because they play in the water I pour in. They've been known to drag a full bottle of (stolen) water to me or the tin and gnaw a hole in the bottom to play in it while it puddles on my carpet :/ I was thinking that since they love running water and pooled water, I'll get them an indoor fountain. Has anyone else had this idea? If so, how'd they like it? All input is welcome!


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## jooleeah (Sep 3, 2010)

ive definitely had this idea (mostly for hermit crabs, but rats too haha) and what im thinking is you have to be careful with the electric bits of the fountain around your rats. Mostly cords, because they _will_ chew them. Some fountains are also cheaply made so I'd be worried about chemicals from paint or something getting into the water, since they're not really for drinking out of. But im not an expert so i have no idea about that :/ It seems like a good idea though, i love fountains


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

My girls rarely chew wires, only twice actually and nothing I couldn't fix. As for chemicals I'm hoping to find a ceramic or porcelain one and I'll run a vinegar/water solution though it several hours before they get to play in it  I'll also bind the cords in some pvc pipe just to be safe. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought of this!


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## jooleeah (Sep 3, 2010)

ah, youre lucky with the wire thing. Every single rat ive ever had has gone for a wire or two in their lifetime. I hope you find a good one!


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## ratty_milkshake (Feb 24, 2014)

I just wish i could get my rats to like water. I give them a bowl for pea/corn fishing but they don't like it. they usually drag all the loose fleece bits into it. this then absorbs the water and then only do they eat the corn and peas. Not sure if they are clever or just trying showing me how much they don't like it. 

Any tips on how to get rats to like water/introduce them properly to it??


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

ratty_milkshake said:


> I just wish i could get my rats to like water. I give them a bowl for pea/corn fishing but they don't like it. they usually drag all the loose fleece bits into it. this then absorbs the water and then only do they eat the corn and peas. Not sure if they are clever or just trying showing me how much they don't like it. Any tips on how to get rats to like water/introduce them properly to it??


Honestly I don't know. I think i just got lucky. I always set a saucer bowl of water out and noticed Ruby playing in it. I then upgraded them to a large plastic paint tin and they went wild. You could try the paint tin with room temp water (i use spring water because the tap here isn't good for them) and just wait. Keep it consistent. My girl's cage is in the room and is always open but they prefer to drink from the tin. Maybe remove the fleece, set it in the middle of the room and wait? The may get curious and investigate.


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## ratty_milkshake (Feb 24, 2014)

Will definitely try it!!!!!!


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## paigebrittain26 (Feb 24, 2014)

Would love to hear how this works out of you do get them a fountain!


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

paigbrittain26 said:


> Would love to hear how this works out of you do get them a fountain!


I'll for sure make a thread when I get it! I'm low on funds right now, the only income I have is through my shop. But I am gonna get one, I've made my mind up on this lol


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I think I've found the fountain. This one is a pet fountain and the price is reasonable. I just thought I'd share it incase anyone wants to try it too. http://m.bonanza.com/listings/autom...=&goog_pla=1&gclid=CPPdp-Hp8LwCFc5aMgodfWIAcw


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## NikiLee (Apr 2, 2014)

Hey-Fey, did you get the fountain? How do the children like it? Got any pictures? (grin)


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I did! They all love it, especially Ruby


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## NikiLee (Apr 2, 2014)

Oh, that's just hysterical!!! (laughing) She sure looks like one happy rat!

After reading your thread (before making a fountain selection) I went looking for a fountain. I'm thinking of making this ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeA8g-9jHSo.

I also have a 20-gallon aquarium and am thinking of playing around with this ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ian-1-RcPY.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Oh my god I NEED to make that fountain! The only problem I can think of is cleaning it. The water will have to be replaced at lest every week and the fountain it's self will need to be scrubbed down. If you're up to disassembling it then I say go for it! And I love the idea of a 20 gal tank for them to dive in! I'll have to scrounge up some funds later on and make one for mine. Thank you for these ideas, I'm always looking for new awesome things for my girls!


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## NikiLee (Apr 2, 2014)

Used 10- and 20-gallon tanks are super-cheap on Craigslist and in the classifieds. Just hold out until you find a good deal. Honestly, I wouldn't pay more than 10 bucks for either size used aquarium.


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## NikiLee (Apr 2, 2014)

I don't think cleaning it would be too hard ... just dump the used water into one pot and pour in fresh water from another. I wouldn't worry about scrubbing stuff unless it started feeling slippery/slimy. And me, being me, I'd probably add a couple of drops of Lugols iodine to the water. Campers put iodine crystals in their canteens so that when they fill their canteens with water from a stream, they know the iodine will kill any bacteria in the water.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

That's a great idea! You should go for it! I will keep an eye out, even though I hate going on CL because I find idiots with rats that I want to save.


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## NikiLee (Apr 2, 2014)

Hey-Fey, I'll tell you a secret. I have three rats coming my way this Thursday. Two are boys, and the other one is a little female black self that was born with one eye. The guys are going to the vet for a quick snip. I'm planning on an all-day intro/immersion on Thursday, just me, the new girl, and my two resident females. I'll be making new play toys in the meantime (like a mother in waiting). I have new hammocks and a manzita perch for the cage cleaning/overhaul/re-decoration. I'll probably make the fountain after I've got everyone settled in.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I look forward to seeing them! The little girly sounds so cute!! I'm actually five minutes away from doing partial intros with my two newest ones and Lilly and Thistle. I've waited so long to do this! They're honestly days away from being 12 weeks but since Lilly and Thistle's shown nothing but pure curiosity towards them I've decided that it's time to set things in motion. I'll probably do intros with Ruby and Matilda and them on Wednesday at the earliest. I may bump it back to the weekend , it honestly just depends on how they act towards Mica and Violet after Lilly and Thistle have gone though intros.


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## NikiLee (Apr 2, 2014)

Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy ... you and I are both going to be having a lot of rattie fun!!!

My plan it to fill the bathtup with a few inches of water and deposit all three rats. With any luck, they'll be more distressed with the water in the bath tub than the fact that there's another rat they don't know. A shampoo and rinse for all three rats will follow, after which all three rats and me are headed to the critter corral. The only thing that's going to be in the critter corral is me, the three girls, a litter box and a towel for breaking up only those fights that draw blood. Other than that, I'm going to TRY to let them work it out. When things are going reasonably well, I'm going to start on the cage cleaning and rearranging.


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## Leraine (Feb 21, 2014)

As a more convenient alternative, maybe you can find a drain strainer for your bathtub (so the rats don't fall down the drain) and just run the faucet on low? You can cover up some of the holes in the drain strainer with, say, duct tape, to decrease the amount that can drain. That way the water in the tub can pool slightly, but not enough that the tub will fill, so you can keep the faucet running for them to have both pooled water and falling water to play with


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I did partial intros the other day in the bathroom. I put a few inches of water in the tub and put them all in it. It turned out that none of them liked that. No one was interested in each other, everyone just wanted out of the water. So I drained the tub and after every one was mostly dry they got to know one another and it went very smoothly.


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