# Swimming



## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

What is your experience with your rats and swimming?

I've read that some actually enjoy it, so I wanted to let my girls give it a go, but don't know how exactly to approach it. 

Any suggestions? 

Thanks!


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Mine love it... 

There is a whole thread about it here somewhere... does anyone remember where?

Basically, give them constant access to water, like pea fishing, and they get more and more brave. The big thing is to not force them.


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

So is it safe to leave a bowl of water in their cage with peas in it?

They won't drown in it will they? Sounds silly, but human babies can die in an inch of water. 

Thanks!


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

rattikins said:


> So is it safe to leave a bowl of water in their cage with peas in it?
> 
> They won't drown in it will they? Sounds silly, but human babies can die in an inch of water.
> 
> Thanks!


Human babies don't have the dexterity to turn themselves over or the strength to lift their head. Baring pinkies and some geriatrics, most rats will be fine.


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Thanks Forensic!


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

rattikins said:


> So is it safe to leave a bowl of water in their cage with peas in it?
> 
> They won't drown in it will they? Sounds silly, but human babies can die in an inch of water.


I only leave the water in there with my healthy young adult/adult rats. Also, my rats enjoy just swimming - even if there are no peas. I usually wont put veggies in the water unless I am going to be there to take it out right away because the water gets nasty. :? I use the smooth glass pebble things that you can put in fish tanks at the bottom of the swimming pool. They love to play with them, stash them, steal them from each other...


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Thanks Sparker! 

So are you saying that they have a "pool" in their cage?


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Yeah! Well, not really in their cage, but they have constant access to it. My rats have their cage and a long play table 24 hours a day...

I bought the biggest, deepest paint roller pan I could find at Lowes and fill it to the top with fresh water daily. 

As far as the pebbles go - they have become a very coveted form of currency with my rats. They would rather me hand them a pebble than a yogie... they're weird. They will all take turns diving to the bottom of the pool, hunt for the perfect pebble, and stash it. :-D


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

So I've started the pea fishing with the girls and they LOVE it! Don't mind the water at all. I think I'm going to simply gradually use a larger and larger bowl until they can dive for the peas and see if they like to swim.

One question I'm left with however before I begin - isn't it bad for them to be wet after they go swimming? Do you towel dry them all the way when you're done? How long does it take for them to dry?

I worry because #1 it's summer and I have the AC on, and #2 in Minnesota the winter can get rather harshly cold. 

Thanks guys!


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## Leiren (Aug 5, 2007)

haha i want a rat hot tub yeaaaah buddy


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Well, I live in a very hot climate - it never gets colder than 55 degrees in the dead of winter - so mine usually need it to cool off. They dry quickly and I would assume, unless they were dealing with a weak immune system or recovering from some illness, that drying off naturally should be fine. My rats are always dry before the table is. :-D

I'd probably watch it in the winter. Maybe... warm water in the pool and a good towel dry?


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## Krickette (Aug 5, 2007)

Boo (my first, best, favorite rat) loooooved swimming. one day she even went in the pool (my little brother's idea...) My current rats hate it, though. i fill up the bathtub at the begingina nd eend of their baths, and they jump out and become very annoyed.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Krickette said:


> My current rats hate it, though. i fill up the bathtub at the beginning and end of their baths, and they jump out and become very annoyed.


It may be because their only exposure to water was on _your_ terms. Mine *deal* with bath time, but love to use their pool because they can go at their own pace and can swim when they feel like it.

For example: Little kids will fight you when it is bath time, but will beg to go swimming.


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

This may be a very stupid question, but why do so many people bathe their rats? My girls are always so clean and they give themselves so many baths. Should I be bathing them? I did my research and it does not say to do so on a regular basis anywhere that I looked.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Some people bathe them to help with allergies, others have rats that get themselves very messy (some male rats and a female here and there like to lay in the litter box and soak up the smell of poo and pee) and others have rats that don't clean themselves very well...


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Oh I see. Thanks!

I'm thankful that my girls are tidy ones!


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## JESSU (Aug 8, 2007)

My rat hatted swimming. He just kept hopping out of the tub.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Again, I think it makes a huge difference how water is introduced, but anyway...

I only bathe mine when they need it, which is not too common, especially with the swimming. Keep in mind, though, that the little buggers also have a sand box...

Sand+Water=Bath.


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

They really are liking water so far. I'm so glad I did the pea fishing to get them used to water gently and on their terms, thank you so much for the advice!!!

They are so fun to watch while they play in the water, and to see them getting better and better at grabbing the peas!!


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## SamsterAndRocky (Jul 24, 2007)

when is too soon to introduce the concept of water/swimming? is 3 weeks old too young?


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Sparker, how big / deep is the pool that your ratties swim in? 

Thanks!


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Sparker? Calling Sparker? 

Anyone else have advice as to how full/deep you fill your pools for your ratties? Thanks!


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Please?


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

I wish I could help here rattikins but i am one of those that doesn't believe in letting my rats swim. sorry


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

JESSU said:


> My rat hatted swimming. He just kept hopping out of the tub.


Thats how one of mine is...(Rokk - Tan Male)


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## SamsterAndRocky (Jul 24, 2007)

does anyone know how soon is too soon to start introducing water and swimming??


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## FreedomDove (Aug 16, 2007)

I would say at 2 months. New born rats can swim. And an adult rat can swim for 2-3 days straight. That is part of the reason why Norway rats are all over the World  Have you introduced them to water yet?


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## chrisstrikeagain (Apr 10, 2007)

My girls have no intrest in pea fishin or swimmin. They tolerate bathes...


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Two of my boys LOVE pea fishing! One (Morgan) will dive right in and hop into the bowl. They only eat the inside of the peas though and I can't for the life of me figure out why the outside isn't desired at all XD


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## Mana (Apr 22, 2007)

Coconut and Jellybean love pea (or other frozen veggies) fishing too. They jump right in. Jellybean stuffs as much into her mouth as she can carry, runs off, stashes it somewhere, and runs back in for more :lol: Coconut sits right in the water and eats. Rokk doesn't like getting his feetsies wet and Sakura just ignores the whole thing, because she usually finds Jellybean's stash and helps herself :lol:


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

rattinkins: sparker said how full and deep her pool was in a eariler post. just go back a bit and reread. 

i'd really like to try pea fishin with my crew but the current set-up of the cage doesn't allow it. i'm hoping to modify a wider cage soon so that the little devils can't escape but its not an easy cage to simply coat in hardware cloth.... *sighs* but it would be fun to see them go diving... maybe when i get a bigger kitchen table i'll let the 10 (11 if stewart's neuter is done by then) of them try out a swimming pool. maybe a large tupperware container and a painting tray laid inside so they can all fit in at once if they wanted (not likely to happen but it could arise...)

the people that have swimming rats should get some pictures or video done of their rats in action. i don't i've seen many swimming rat pictures on here, if at all


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

I have some pictures on my camera; I'll try to get them on here.

Stephanie, why don't you believe in letting them swim?


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Letting rats swim too often and become fully submersed in water can obviously make them more susceptible to ear infections. Every once in a while I donâ€™t see a problem with it, but not every day and not to make the water so deep that they canâ€™t lift their heads up out of the water if they need to.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

Sparker said:


> I have some pictures on my camera; I'll try to get them on here.
> 
> Stephanie, why don't you believe in letting them swim?


Mostly because my mischief doesn't like it. There are risks to letting rats in the water too often, like Jennie said ear infections. I just have never been one to let them in water. They get their baths when they need them but for the most part it only stresses rats out. I have never introduced them to water early on and all of the rats I have had in the past have never enjoyed it. I view it much the same as cats and water, if they don't like it don't force it. But that is just my opinion many people allow it and as long as they are careful and the rats aren't stressed and only swimming for fun rather than "get me outta here!!!" I don't see a problem with it I just personally don't see it as nessecary.


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

twitch said:


> rattinkins: sparker said how full and deep her pool was in a eariler post. just go back a bit and reread.



Actually what she said was "the biggest, deepest paint roller pan I could find at Lowes"

That hardly gives me dimensions of any type whatsoever. 

That's like giving someone a recipe that calls for a pinch, a dash, etc. 

Without knowing the exact roller pan she used (and I'm no Lowe's roller pan expert) I have an extremely vague idea of its size, hence the follow up question asking for clarification.

I technically don't know what her roller pan size means at all. Nor how deep the water would be.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

JennieLove said:


> not to make the water so deep that they canâ€™t lift their heads up out of the water if they need to.


I don't understand what you mean here. Can't lift their heads? 



Stephanie said:


> I view it much the same as cats and water, if they don't like it don't force it. But that is just my opinion many people allow it and as long as they are careful and the rats aren't stressed and only swimming for fun rather than "get me outta here!!!" I don't see a problem with it


Exactly.

My swimming pool is on their table that they have constant access to. I never put them in the water; I have never had to. This is something that my rats _enjoy_ and always do at their own pace. I have been saying all throughout this thread that people _forcing_ water on their rats is what ruin it for them.

Rattikins:
It is about (and this is a guess bc I am at work and can't measure it right now) 6 or 7 inches deep and about 18"x12". It might be a litter bigger... not sure.

-Sarah


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

It is so interesting to me that some rats really like swimming LoL I so want to see a video of ratties swimming LoL.


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## twilight (Apr 20, 2007)

I will have to get video of my ratties swimming. First I gotta find a big rock because I havn't done it in a while.  

I agree with using force is the wrong way. You wan't the water to be a place of fun, not terrifiying. I think with most rats you have to teach them though. For example, you wan't your rat to start to come to its name. Well he isnt going to listen free of will, so you teach him with positive reinforcement. The same thing applies to introducing your rats to water. I believe rats can be taught to come to like water through positive experiences around it. Afterall, they are great swimmers. However, as we all know rats have individual personalites. Some rats are just down right TERRIFIED. In those cases, because the stress level is so high, I would just pass on the swimming. But a rat being nervous when introduced to swimming, well thats to be expected.

Like other people have stated, it shouldn't be something that is not done very often. But I believe it does have its benifits, especially physically. Like how I used it as therapy for a rat with a fused ankle to strengthen the leg he would limp on.

I use the bathtub. Fill up to where the ratties can barely touch. I put a big rock in the middle for them to rest on and jump off of. I stay in the tub with them like a life guard (lol) and I provid the positive reinforcement and comfort.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

I completely agree with most everything Twilight just said... I just don't use the bath tub. 

When I say my rats enjoy water, I don't just mean swimming. They also enjoy shallow water (an inch or two) when it is hot, which it is for a good chunk of the time around here. That is why I use paint trays; they have a shallow end and a deep end.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Sparker...make sure they are able to lift their heads up out of the water, its not hrad to understand.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

No, it is hard for me to understand...

Why wouldn't they be able to? Are you asking if it is too deep? Or that they would be safe if they got injured? 

Please elaborate. I wouldn't ask what you mean if I understood it already...


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

I meant that if you are keeping them in water, make sure that they have a shallow enough area that they are at least able to keep their heads up above the water level. lol, you said that some of your rats even dive to the bottom? That gives me a picture that they HAVE a deep end, which is no prob at all, as long as they are able to get to a safe side as well, so they can take a break from swimming. Im just trying to point this out so some newbies dosnt just stick their rats in a deep tub thinking they will be fine. Sorry If I confused you, haha.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

I think you are missing the fact that the paint roller is 6 or 7 inches deep at the deepest end and goes, in steps, up to about one inch. It is also in their cage. I am not keeping them in water at all. They come and go.

Like this:
http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu/hfh/sub_websites/tutorials/Painting/media/paintTrayBig.jpg

-Sarah


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Ahhh, I see, thats what I was hoping it was. Like I said before though I just dont want newer rat owners filling a tub up with water and just leaving there rats in there. >.< Man, I cant even give my boys a bath without them crying and pooing. Its like the moment they feel water at there feet they run to me as fast as they can.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Oh, okay. I went back and reread... I missed the part about the newbies. 

Mine poo during bath time, too. Somehow, pool time is different. *shrugs*


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

lol, We've let our boys try to play in really shallow water...they just freak. LMAO


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## cashewsmama (Aug 10, 2007)

i have to try the rat pool idea..... a more pleasant way to trick them into bathtime. could work out, hopefully.


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

Just as an update, we are making progress with the girls and their swimming. 

They are still in the pea fishing stage, but I've gradually increase the size of the bowl and the level of the water. 

They're getting used to the water very quickly and non-threateningly. 

They looks SO CUTE when they pea fish!!


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