Can Rats Swim And Can They Swim Underwater?

If you’re having a pet rat, you’ve probably wondered about this question: can rats swim or do they drown? Throwing your rat into the filled bathtub is something you might not want to do before you read the answer to this question.

Yes, rats can swim. In fact, rats can swim up to half a mile on open water. For such tiny animals this is a record. Although, they can swim, some rats might just enjoy playing with water instead of the actual swimming process. Despite being associated with death and garbage, rats are rather sensible creatures that stress easily. If you are a rat owner, do not push your pet to swim. At stressful times, it might actually drown.

Do All Rats Enjoy Water?

No. Rats are different, just like people are. Some of them enjoy the water, some of them dread it. To check if your rat is a water lover, you can put it in the sink and turn on the water. If it does not get scared and run into a corner, your rat might actually like water.

Can Rats Swim For A Fact?

Yes, rats are built to be able to swim. It all depends on whether they identify this activity as stressful or as relaxing. To see if your rat enjoys swimming, fill a bowl or a tray with water and place your pet inside. This little experiment should only be made after you concluded that your rat enjoys water. If it fears it, never force it to swim. It is highly important to be observant of your pet’s needs.

At the same time, make sure you never leave it near the water without supervision. Also, do not place the tray of water inside his cage. Let your rat swim occasionally, not as a part of its daily activity.

The water you place your rat in should never be too hot or too cold. The water must be at room temperature for your rat to enjoy it. Also, instead of placing the rat inside the water container, create a path for it. Place things near the water tray and let it choose if it jumps in or not. Adjusting might take some time but you should always let the rat choose to get in itself.

Rats can even swim underwater. There are known facts when wild rats have been invading buildings by swimming up the sewer pipes of the toilet. They can hold their breath up to 3 minutes while being underwater.

What Other Things Do Rats Need?

Before buying or owning a rat, there are a few facts you need to know about these tiny animals. You should be able to meet all the terms before you actually purchase one.

Rats need their sleep. They stress easily, so their sleep is of high importance for them. When deciding where to place your rat, take into account all the noises that get to his place. If you want to place it in your room and you are an avid music listener, it’s best to find your rat a better place. They need a quiet place. Also, they are nocturnal animals so placing them in rooms with high activity during day time is affecting their stress levels and lives altogether.
Never trim their whiskers. They use their whiskers to guide them around things and maintain balance.
Place ropes and things to climb on inside their cages. Rats are very active animals and they need to put their energy to good use. Climbing on things or ropes actually keep them healthier and strengthen their balance.
Let it explore once in a while. Do not keep your rat locked away all the time. As they are very active, you can let them explore a room under your careful supervision now and then. Make sure you place all of the harmful objects out of their way and you are good to go.
Train your rat. These animals are pretty smart. You can train them to do different tasks, such as climbing the rope to get the food reward at the end of it. Over time, your rat will remember the process and redo it. Keeping your pet active is a great way of making sure it does not get overweight. Being in the normal weight parameters is very important for every animal, including rats.
Be patient. Although rats are very clever and easy trainable, they can mess up sometimes. In such times, you should not punish them.
Let you pet have the final word. As previously stated, rats are very sensitive, they scare and stress easily. Do not force your animal to do anything that it does not enjoy. Do not force-feed it, do not oblige it to swim or climb the rope if it does not want to, etc. Stressful activities affect its life.

Altogether, keep your rat on a healthy diet and make sure it gets all the physical activity it needs. Place it in quiet spaces and never force it to do anything. This way, you will have the happiest rat in the world.