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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 7h

Chickpeas newest molt has me saying "ba-da-ba-BA-BAAA!" Anyone else see some golden (yet not so golden 😛) arches in miss Chickpeas face? (Also no, she's not being squished in that first photo lol)

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 8h

Pistachio is learning to combine fetch with jumping, aka the first few steps of ratty flyball!
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I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 1d

On my post about how rats look, well, a bit "stupid" from the front (in a lovable way!), I had some people saying it was just a dumbo thing. And I wholeheartedly disagree - I think all rats look like lovable dummies from the front, and I have a list of photos of my standard eared girls to show it!

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 1d

Jellybean (dwarf) and Cracker (standard) practicing some vs ratsketball!
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I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 2d

I feel a bit bad for giving Tofu a goblin reputation with the last photo post, so here is one of my favorite photos of her posing elegantly like the fancy lady she is! See, she can absolutely work the camera when she wants to!

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 2d

Bean doing a sensory agility course! This was something we worked on as part of an agility challenge where you were supposed to integrate different feeling/sounding objects (like the crinkly plastic, soft blanket, and metal stand).
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I have a rat training book here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 3d

Some closeups of Tofu proving that hairless rats are the most photogenic of rats 😅

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 3d

Cracker and Crumb are learning the ball in a cup trick! This trick is especially hard for Crumb since she isn't as practiced with basketball based tricks, but both girls did a great job!
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I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 4d

This week’s paw paintings by my sweet rats Toast and Tofu - they and all their cagemates did a great job!
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If you would like to commission your own rat paw painting, you can do so here: www.etsy.com/shop/RatPain...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 5d

Here is a definitely not diabolical game that will test your ability to tell Raisin and Chickpea apart! On each of these 5 photos I've add 1 Raisin photo and 1 Chickpea photo where they each had similar molts. Your goal is to try and pick which rat is which in each photo - good luck!

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 5d

Cracker practicing some of her favorite tricks! As you can see they are 90% fetch based lol, because Cracker really likes fetch and picks up any fetch-based trick super quickly!
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Want help with training your rats tricks? I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 6d

Why do rats look so stupid in close-ups 😭 I swear they are so cute from afar and then you zoom in and see their pupils going opposite directions and their goofy overbites and suddenly its hard to take them seriously 😂

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 6d

Please enjoy Feta's 1st awkward attempts at playing fetch 😂 Poor girl was giving it her all, but for some reason believed that she has to do massive hops to move with the ball lol.
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Want help with training your rats tricks? I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 7d

Chickpea is learning to walk on a rolling barrel! This trick is one of my favorites to train with rats, because they are such agile animals with amazing balance and so it really plays to their strengths.
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I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 8d

First attempts at some weaving with Feta and Chickpea! Both girls made great progress and are very close to mastering the independent weave now - great job girls!
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I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 9d

Smol, medium, and lorge - ratty style! Aka Popcorn, Carrot, and tiny Pumpkin Seed 🥺 I need to add Pistachio next time for an x-large example 😅

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 9d

Starting to train the wall handstand trick with Cracker! First up we are working on backing up onto a medium curved surface - from here we will add height and reduce the curve, until she is backing up onto a wall.
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I have a rat training book here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 10d

Feta's first agility course! As you can see she very much has a preferred direction lol. So we have some stuff to work on (and we'll be adding in harder obstacles soon!), but for a 1st attempt she did great! Great job!
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I have a rat training book here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 11d

This week’s paw paintings by my sweet rats Tofu and Toast - they and all their cagemates did a great job!
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If you would like to commission your own rat paw painting, you can do so here: www.etsy.com/shop/RatPain...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 12d

Cookie doing her drawer fetch trick! Cookie had a unique way of opening drawers that I've only rarely seen in rats - instead of using her mouth to open the drawer, she used her front paws to pull it, much like humans!
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I have a rat training book here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 13d

Carrot's turn to take on the 3d printed agility course by Mr Mango Makes! She really loves agility so this training session was super fun!
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Want help with training your rats tricks? I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 14d

Don't mess with Pistachio or her body guards will go after you...sure, they'll just lick you to death, but the threat still stands! 😛 (I love how Chickpea and Feta always have opposite molts going on, really suits their yin-yang style lol)

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 14d

Sweet little Butter doing her weaves + fetch trick combo! This was one of her favorite combos, and even when she was an old lady like in this clip she continued to do amazing at it!
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Want help with training your rats tricks? I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 15d

Some scent work with Popcorn! We really need to practice this again soon, its such a fun trick combo and Popcorn and all my rats absolutely love it!
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Want help with training your rats tricks? I have a rat training book available here! www.etsy.com/listing/1605...

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shadowtherat.bsky.social @shadowtherat.bsky.social · 16d

Happy half birthday to my golden girls! Toast (black hooded dwarf) is now officially 3.5 years old, and the Neapolitan girls (Popcorn the Siamese, Raisin the werewolf, and Tofu the hairless) are now officially 2.5 years old!

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