# Pea fishing questions



## Myminizooxo (Feb 3, 2021)

So I don't even have my boys yet. They won't be ready to come home until Friday but I might not get them until Monday or Tuesday or possibly the weekend after. Anyways I hear that a lot of ratties love it but I can't really find much info on it.
1.When should I introduce it? Should I wait until my boys are adults? How young is too young?
2. How deep of water is too deep? (Obviously I'd start with a couple inches
3. How often can my boys do it and for how long at a time? / will it strip their natural oils off their skin?
Obviously I'm not going to force it on them if they don't want too and like I said I don't even have my boys yet because they're too young and I'm going to let them settle a couple days before I take them out


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## Vividdonut12 (Nov 26, 2020)

*1.When should I introduce it? Should I wait until my boys are adults? How young is too young?*
I introduced it to mine 2 days after I got them. They were around 7 weeks old. Any rat under 4 weeks probably shouldn't pea fishing. But, if they are in good health and are old enough to be separated from their mom they should be fine.
*2. How deep of water is too deep? (Obviously, I'd start with a couple of inches)*
Rats are capable of swimming, if you are supervising them there shouldn't be a problem. Most rats won't willingly swim, they will kind of lean over and dip their heads in. But, if you do have rats that like to swim, then you can get them used to deeper water by slowly increasing the depth every time you let them pea fish. There is a very little hazard in pea fishing, and as long as you watch them and are there to lend a and if something happens it is perfectly safe.
*3. How often can my boys do it and for how long at a time? / will it strip their natural oils off their skin?*
There is no time limit, they might actually get tired of it after a while and go to sleep somewhere. I wouldn't do it daily, because peas are a bit sugary and often give rats runny poop, but 1-2 times a week is perfectly fine. You can switch up the "fish/peas" that you put in the water for them to grab. I often use carrots, spinach, cheerios, various sliced fruits, baby puffs, and anything else they like. Pea fishing is really just a creative way to give food. It is very enriching and gives their mind a little challenge.
As I said earlier, many rats won't actually swim in their water, but if they do swim, and they swim too much It MIGHT strip the oils a bit, but really nothing to worry about. If you are really worried you can put some coconut oil on their fur (not a lot, just a bit rubbed on your hands and then stroked into their skin and fur).


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## Vividdonut12 (Nov 26, 2020)

Here are my 2 boys pea fishing for the first time. They really enjoyed themselves that day. As you can see, my water level is pretty low and they weren’t really swimming.


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## Myminizooxo (Feb 3, 2021)

Vividdonut12 said:


> Here are my 2 boys pea fishing for the first time. They really enjoyed themselves that day. As you can see, my water level is pretty low and they weren’t really swimming.
> View attachment 303785
> View attachment 303786


Yeah that's about how much water I plan to do but I saw a few post from a few years ago saying their rats were like diving into water. I never owned a small pet that actually liked water or able to really be in water. I just found out rats do it a like 2 weeks ago. Like guinea pigs usually hate water (especially mine) and smaller rodents just can't be in water because it strips their natural oils off


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## Myminizooxo (Feb 3, 2021)

Tha


Vividdonut12 said:


> *1.When should I introduce it? Should I wait until my boys are adults? How young is too young?*
> I introduced it to mine 2 days after I got them. They were around 7 weeks old. Any rat under 4 weeks probably shouldn't pea fishing. But, if they are in good health and are old enough to be separated from their mom they should be fine.
> *2. How deep of water is too deep? (Obviously, I'd start with a couple of inches)*
> Rats are capable of swimming, if you are supervising them there shouldn't be a problem. Most rats won't willingly swim, they will kind of lean over and dip their heads in. But, if you do have rats that like to swim, then you can get them used to deeper water by slowly increasing the depth every time you let them pea fish. There is a very little hazard in pea fishing, and as long as you watch them and are there to lend a and if something happens it is perfectly safe.
> ...


 Thank you so much!


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## Vividdonut12 (Nov 26, 2020)

Myminizooxo said:


> Thank you so much!


I am happy to help, good luck with your new rat babies.


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## lfraser06 (Aug 5, 2020)

I used this mostly in the summer - to help cool them down. They get peas and carrots and corn at other times, just not in a bowl of water. When I do the set up for pea fishing, I leave the veggies frozen. I defrost them if it's just in a bowl as a snack.


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## Myminizooxo (Feb 3, 2021)

lfraser06 said:


> I used this mostly in the summer - to help cool them down. They get peas and carrots and corn at other times, just not in a bowl of water. When I do the set up for pea fishing, I leave the veggies frozen. I defrost them if it's just in a bowl as a snack.


Yeah that's understandable. I usually have fresh veggies for my guinea pigs (almost never frozen) but my dad always has the apartment set to 75°F (except my room that's always between 60-70) so if I have them out for floor time in the living room I was thinking I might do it then just because it's so warm out there but they'll be in my room most of the time because I can't stand the heat. But it's also a weird time between seasons here. Just last week we had a foot of snow and this week is almost warm enough to not have a jacket on so yeah lol


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## lfraser06 (Aug 5, 2020)

Myminizooxo said:


> Yeah that's understandable. I usually have fresh veggies for my guinea pigs (almost never frozen) but my dad always has the apartment set to 75°F (except my room that's always between 60-70) so if I have them out for floor time in the living room I was thinking I might do it then just because it's so warm out there but they'll be in my room most of the time because I can't stand the heat. But it's also a weird time between seasons here. Just last week we had a foot of snow and this week is almost warm enough to not have a jacket on so yeah lol



Oh they love t when I have fresh on hand .... especially romaine. But I live alone and fresh never seems to last long enough to get through it before it turns. So I keep a bag of peas and a bag of corn in the freezer.


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## Myminizooxo (Feb 3, 2021)

Lol I understand. If it wasn't for my piggies I'd probably wouldn't have veggies at all. I pretty much survive on pasta and take out. I might get a bag of peas because 1. My girls aren't huge fan of peas and 2. Peas can't be fed to then everyday so they'd go bad


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## lfraser06 (Aug 5, 2020)

Myminizooxo said:


> Lol I understand. If it wasn't for my piggies I'd probably wouldn't have veggies at all. I pretty much survive on pasta and take out. I might get a bag of peas because 1. My girls aren't huge fan of peas and 2. Peas can't be fed to then everyday so they'd go bad


They make a good ice pack in a pinch too


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

I use paint roller trays and fill them with water, so there's a "deep end" and a "shallow end" and the rats can go as deep as they are comfortable with


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## Vividdonut12 (Nov 26, 2020)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> I use paint roller trays and fill them with water, so there's a "deep end" and a "shallow end" and the rats can go as deep as they are comfortable with


That is SO smart! They must love that.


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## lfraser06 (Aug 5, 2020)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> I use paint roller trays and fill them with water, so there's a "deep end" and a "shallow end" and the rats can go as deep as they are comfortable with


That's an awesome idea!


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## Angels with Whiskers (Jan 20, 2021)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> I use paint roller trays and fill them with water, so there's a "deep end" and a "shallow end" and the rats can go as deep as they are comfortable with


Wow, I never thought of that!


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## Myminizooxo (Feb 3, 2021)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> I use paint roller trays and fill them with water, so there's a "deep end" and a "shallow end" and the rats can go as deep as they are comfortable with


Oooo I have a brand new one I could try it with once they get comfortable with me


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

I use a rubber dog bowl from a farm supply store and rocks. They will dunk their whole heads under water lol. But they never really liked the peas. They prefer them in a bowl.


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