Shadow the Rat

This weeks ratty paw paintings - everyone did amazing! Of course Olive had to give us tons of bloopers lol - she's such a silly rat! If you would like to order a custom ratty paw painting of your own, you can do so here: etsy.com/shop/RatPainti…

This week’s paw paintings by my sweet rats Chickpea and Cinnamon - they and all their buddies did a great job! . If you would like to commission your own rat paw painting, you can do so here: ratpaintings.etsy.com

I was taking some updated photos of Chickpea's current molt, and stumbled upon this gem! Poor Chickpea looks so confused here, I think I was trying to set her down and she wasn't quite on the same page! Anyone have a good caption for this photo?

Crumb doing a fun agility course! Crumb has amazing balance (like all rats do!), so things like the double barrel roll are extra fun for her and its one of her favorite props! . I have a rat training book available here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

Last night I said goodbye to a rat that felt like she would be with me forever - and that rat of course is my perfect girl Toast, one of my 1st dwarfs & the last rat my mom knew 💔 Goodbye sweet Toasty, you were an amazing rat & I was lucky to have you! youtube.com/watch?v=oEDuGn…

A blast from the past with some of my favorite St. Patricks Day ratty photos! Anyone remember the names of these girls (other than Toast of course lol)?

Happy St. Patricks Day from me and my rats! Bean absolutely rocked the St. Patricks Day outfit and this sign pull trick - great job Beany! . I have a rat training book available here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

Cookie doing her weave-walking trick! I don't really train this now because I'm always a bit nervous about walking w/my rats, but we still work weaving all the time and all my rats love it! . I have a rat training book here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

This week’s paw paintings by my sweet rats Crumb and Pistachio - they and all their buddies did a great job! . If you would like to commission your own rat paw painting, you can do so here: ratpaintings.etsy.com

Here Donut & Butter were playing vs flyball! As you can see Butter struggled w/only fetching her ball at 1st lol, she wanted Donut's because of course whatever another rat wants has to be better! . I have a rat training book here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

Don't forget to water your ratty flowers to ensure they sprout!

Latte doing some fun agility! Latte really enjoyed agility (as most rats do!), and it was always fun to challenge her with new courses and props - great job Latte! . I have a rat training book available here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

I know I've been sharing a bunch of cute Pistachio clips recently but just look at how adorable she is! Here she's snuggling with Jellybean (black) and Feta (pink) and its just extra adorable seeing them smooshing together like this!

A funny clip showing why I usually only keep one rat out when initially training lol - Butter was just trying to do her job of finding the scented ball & jumping w/it, but Banana kept stealing it! I have a rat training book here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

Crumb is looking for the gold at the end of the rainbow! Gold in this case being yogurt of course - and I'm happy to report she found lots of it!

Crumb is learning to play a tethered version of basketball! Now she clearly thinks I've gone a bit insane for asking her to do this, but she's a team player and gave it her best shot lol. . I have a rat training book here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

Omelet (white) & Blueberry (gray & white) playing vs basketball...with a twist! Both girls loved this trick so much, and especially enjoyed when I'd add extra challenges like a jump to go over. . I have a rat training book here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

@_Brother14 Hah well in fairness I've trained well over 100 rats, and many of them have learned double spins! Just not these 2 particular girls, so it was fun seeing them do so well at it!

So I found out that Cracker and Crumb have a special skill, which is to spin in synch! I've never asked them to spin at the same time before, so I was pretty impressed with how well they did! . I have a rat training book here! etsy.com/listing/160548… amzn.to/484u2Mv

@lanadelreyjrjr Aww cirque du sewer, I love them!

@Rattrixs every year i go to the renn faire there's a performer that has an act with rats and cats and it's so freakin cute and fun!! this reminded me a lot of that 🥹

@jakethejakest All that is to say, their short lifespans don't bother me much - I view it as me getting to care for and love many more rats than I can longer-lived animals, and when they get old or sick I deal with that as it comes up

@jakethejakest I think I have a very pragmatic view to death - it comes for all of us, so to me that means its best to focus on the present. I work w/animals everyday & unfortunately see a decent amount of death even in longer lived animals, so that's really shaped how I view lifespan & death