African Soft Rats as feeders

Ok I just got a colony of ASF rats. I was babysitting my friend Tom Chang's rodents and he told me take a few ASFR and start a colony. He also told me to take what I needed from any of the young rodents if I need any. I took a few ASFR pinkies I had 4 hatchling corns that would not eat anything. Well I offered them the pinks and they all took them right out of my hand. I could not belive it. they went from non feeding to killers. I tried to fed them FT pinks for their next meal and not one would take it so I left them over night and one of them ate it, now I have to try the others. Has anyone tried ASF rat pinks on stoburn feeders. Please let me know what the results are

I had one runty carmel female from last year that was het for everything so I worked hard to save her. She would not eat anything, so one day I tossed in a new born ASF in for her...she ate like a fool and as long as I have live asf's she eats like a champ. She will now eat rat chubs but as for regular mice, won't touch them to this day.
Go Figure...

I got my colony's of Asf's this year. I found I had to get 1-2 day old Asf's or else they seemed too big for my hatchlings. I haven't tryed them on any stubborn feeders yet. But my month old hatchlings love them.

I haven't tried the picky eaters, but I have been successful in switch from week to week. No corns I have in my collection has imprinted on ASF or Mice. I really like going back and fourth for a mixture.

I try to only feed the baby corns I offer for sale pinky mice, as I do not want to sell a snake with a food preference to someone that is unable to get ASF... but I have had great results with them as far as getting picky eaters to eat. If I have a snake labeled as a keeper I will give it both ASF and mice - whatever I have more of on hand on feeding day- and I have really only noticed a couple of snakes seem to prefer one over the other.

It is better to get a hatchling to eat. Once the metabolism starts to kick in you should get most to eat . I got 2 of the 4 that would not eat to take a normal pinky both did not feed before. Back in the old days you used lizards or lizard sented pinks after one or two of thoses you would have some corns to start eating non sented pinks . On the other hand some just wanted lizared scented pinks. You have to ween them off the scented pinks. 2 weeks of starving or putting into brumation for 45 day will get a bunch more to eat.. No stress like force feeding .

DragonBoy here are some tricks that might help you get her to eat mice. Take a pre killed ASFR and skin the animal from the begining of the front leggs . peal off the whole head aera in one piece, you should have a hood like piece of skin, take it and put it over a pre killed mouse put about 2 stiches in 3 places then offer it to your snake . It will smell the ASFR and after eating past the sholders it will get the tast of mouse . Most of the times it will eat it some times it will spit it out. another way is to take a pre killed ASFR 1/2 the size of the normal meal and a pre killed mouse the same size sow the back legs of the ASFR to the sholders of the mouse use about 3 stiches in each leg

I do not know if I would be using thread on food for my snake. How does anyone know that it won't cause trouble with their digestive tract?

As the the original question, my anery refused to eat 2 mouse pinks in a row so I offered a cut up asf pink a few times once he got to eating for me I had no more troubles, and he is even ok with mouse pinks too.

carnivorouszoo said:

I do not know if I would be using thread on food for my snake. How does anyone know that it won't cause trouble with their digestive tract?

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sorry, I forgot to say use cotton thread

WOW!

Thats cool Vinny, I wish I could breed them but I think they are illegal to have in California.I know of Tom Chang and he used to have some pretty ammazing okeetees, we were both breeding them years ago. Does he still do the Okeetees?

I dont think so and the last stock he had was the best looking ones he ever had. the okeetees were a mix of my friend Sky Smith stock which have some yamessee blood in the mix Sky crossed a F1 male off my wild caught stock from when I went down to the Okeetee. It all depends what year you are talking about. He had okeetees off me some years back deep color but little black. I got that stock from people that went down to jasper Co to collect them. I have one female that came from Sky Smith stock before he got some off some breeder at daytona cross to my old stock that I just mentioned

stephen said:

Thats cool Vinny, I wish I could breed them but I think they are illegal to have in California.I know of Tom Chang and he used to have some pretty ammazing okeetees, we were both breeding them years ago. Does he still do the Okeetees?

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yes he still does HAVE SOME OKEETEES, I just got off the phone with him

Sometimes it does suck to live in CA. I have a blood hatchling thats not eating and would love to try ASFs, but as stated they are illegal here. Anyone know why and does that include frozen?

I don't know why it would include frozen. Seems like their concern would be with live animals escaping.

Ruderacer said:

Sometimes it does suck to live in CA. I have a blood hatchling thats not eating and would love to try ASFs, but as stated they are illegal here. Anyone know why and does that include frozen?

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Hi, It is because it is warm where you live. Also there is a breeder are in Nv if you dont tell no one will know. Check kingsnake.com, go to classifids check the feeder sec. You live i cali. You can find crevis spiny lizzards or fence lizards and anoils from a supplyer to use for senting. Dont you have any skinks or spiny lizards where you live

I use asfr's to get my stubborn feeders going.
One tip to get the snake onto f/t mice after feeding asfr:-
I freeze a load of pinkies with a asfr (freshly dispatched). Then bundled all up into one bag. Seems to scent the pinks enough to encourage a feed responce, without scenting to much mouse smell away.

Yes this seems to be the case with ASFR. I belive they most likely their sent is more close to a wild NA rodent such as Deer mice or some other native field mouse. They look like a Deer mouse crossed to a house mouse.

This is what I do. Take some of the bedding from the ASFR where the pee and rub the head of a pinky in the bedding and leave the rest of the pinky clean of the bedding . I also rub the face of a mouse pinky on the underside of a ASFR.

Vinman said:

I also rub the face of a mouse pinky on the underside of a ASFR.

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I truely wouldnt want to try that one, i dont know if its my stain of asfr, but there is no picking up by hand (other than with there tails), but mine are too evil to play with.

Pual I pull the bedding ou tof the cage for senting. I use a ASFR when the are small for senting like one with its eyes closed . Yes mine are evil SOB's

Kind of unrelated, but I have a male woma that was attacked by a mouse and would never eat them again. He takes rat pups and ASFs well now, but gets defensive if I even put a f/t mouse in his cage.

i had 3 amel hatchlings this year who refused to eat for almost 3 months straight, not one meal in their whole lives! threw in some F/T ASF pinks, and they gobbled them down. fed them ASF pinks once or twice more, and they successfully moved to F/T pinky mice!