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DIY Projects Use this forum to post threads related to home made projects for your corns... Vivariums, hides, decorations, accessories, you name it. Anything to save some bucks or give your personalized touch.

African Soft Fur Rats
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Old 02-07-2016, 02:17 PM   #1
BeauBoi
African Soft Fur Rats

I just ordered some ASF Rats! I am getting two groups of 1.3 from 2 different breeders! I will be getting them on Friday, so now I have to build my mini-racks!
Since males and females need not be separated (except for growing them out past weaning stage), I will only be using 4 tubs. One tub for each family group, and a tub each for male and female grow-outs. The tubs I have in mind are some food-grade tubs that I bought for my business a while ago but never needed. They will be put in a mini-rack of my soon-to-be-reptile room (currently our "junk-room" lol) I will post pictures after I get the junk-room cleaned out and have started construction! Which Imbetter get started on asap! :-D
~Beau
 
Old 02-15-2016, 01:51 PM   #2
BeauBoi
Just an update:

Well, Friday came along and I went to pick up my ASFs. I had to drive to 2 different locations, 70 miles apart from each other, so I didn't get back home until rather late. I was pretty much exhausted, so I just popped the 2 groups into their respective RUBs and went to bed.

Unfortunately....the next morning, I discovered that the first group of 1/3 was actually 2/2 (2 males and 2 females)... I called the breeder and she offered to switch them out, but I had a lot of things already planned for the day and decided I would just split them into two smaller groups of 1/1. Which means I had to start over in my RUB/ Rack system, as I am working on limited space in the small closet I am using. I won't get a chance to work on the setup again until the weekend, but I will post pictures when I do.

The group from the other breeder was also a little off. She was mistaken on how many she had of each gender and was only able to sell me a 1/2 group. ALSO, she must have been mistaken regarding the age of the ASFs, because she told me that were a little over 6 weeks old and there is NO WAY that they are over 4 weeks. No big deal really, it just means it will take longer before they start to produce, but that isn't too big a concern since I have plenty of frozen mice and rats left in the freezer.

All in all, I am content with my starter groups. I have a pair of Ginger ASFs, a pair of Agouti ASFs, and a trio of White-Spots. Since I was short a RUB, I put the immature trio into an old hamster cage until Imhave a chance to purchase another RUB and the fittings to ASF-proof it.

On an unrelated note: my 2 cats and my little terrier are FASINATED with the ASFs (my big dog could care less lol). I will have to make extra sure that the dog and cat are out of the reptile room before I close it up for the night!

~Beau
 
Old 02-15-2016, 03:36 PM   #3
joann42
I bought a group of 2.4 but one of my males was sick and skinny so he is gone. I now have one big breeding group of 1.4. They do bite but have already had one litter of six and one other female is prego. They dont smell either, I mean they have a smell thats kind of sweetish but its not rank like mice.
 
Old 02-15-2016, 04:27 PM   #4
BeauBoi
Quote:
Originally Posted by joann42 View Post
I bought a group of 2.4 but one of my males was sick and skinny so he is gone. I now have one big breeding group of 1.4. They do bite but have already had one litter of six and one other female is prego. They dont smell either, I mean they have a smell thats kind of sweetish but its not rank like mice.
I was initially a bit worried by the reports that they bite, but the breeder that I got my first group (which turned into 2 smaller groups) is a SERIOUS breeder. I mean, she has 300+ preceding groups, and she asked if I was wanting the ASF strictly as breeders or as pets. That question lead us into a discussion about biting and she informed me that she had been working on a "pet line" of ASFs (which were her Gingers). I ended up getting one Ginger male (which was supposed to be my only male) and a Ginger female, even though they cost a little more, with the intention of handling my ASF frequently enough that if someone came to me wanting one for a pet I would be able to provided it.

I have to hand it to the breeder, she has done a FANTASTIC job of socializing (perhaps even domesticating to some extent)! The Gingers compared to the Agouti are like night and day! The Agouti are much much more "wild" acting, giving little nips and running in terror if I stick my hand into the RUB, while the Gingers are calm, relaxed, a drill happily crawl onto my hand when I reach in. The Gingers have never even "nipped" me.

You are absolutely correct concerning the smell. I have always despised the smell of mouse, but I (personally) find the ASF's slight smell pleasant--kinda like nutmeg or cinnamon.

The White-Spot ASFs I picked up from the other breeder act much like the Agouti from the first breeder (terrified and hyper), but the second breeder admitted to me that this was her first litter of ASFs and I don't know to what degree she handled them (plus they are SO young...). It will be interesting to see how they developed with regular handling.

Having the one "semi-domesticated" group to compare to the "wild" group, once the start producing, will be interesting as well, imo.

ANOTHER interesting bit of info from the first breeder, is that she also raises mice and claims that the ASFs will readily adopt litters from mice moms. She said she no longer lets any of her mice raise their own litters and just fosters them over to the ASF moms, and said that by doing so she has increased her mouse production significantly--no longer having litters randomly eaten by the mothers. If so, I may go back to raising mice, though on a MUCH smaller scale (so as to avoid the overpowering smell of mouse).

Thanks for posting! Any advice you may have would be gratefully appreciated, and it would be great to have someone else's colony to compare my own to!

~Beau
 
Old 03-19-2016, 12:04 PM   #5
BeauBoi
Well...lol...this project turned up-side-down with a quickness!

Things here, irl, got busy with work and family, my construction materials for the rack itself are all stilled piled by the closet in my reptile room and my ASFs are in their tubs, stacked in our bedroom (yea, that's not going over well lol).

HOWEVER, my first pinkies were born last night! 15 of the little darlings (they look like pink blobs with wee little appendages LOL)! They were born to my "wild-type" pair. I cannot tell that my ginger pair are even pregnant, though...

Hopefully, I will get a chance to work in the rack itself now that the weekend is here, and I will look for my camera so I can post pics!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

~Beau
 
Old 03-21-2016, 11:08 PM   #6
MysticExotics
I have worked with ASF's a few times, over the past few years, when I tried them with my Granite IJ female, who would not eat regular rats, but I wanted to get her off mice.

I wish ASF's were more prevalent and more of a common feeder like rats and mice, because they are the perfect size for the smaller Morelia, and with the additional facts that they are great in larger groups than the mice or rats, plus they have large litters (I had one litter of 30) they would be way better for feeding than regular rats.

I would grow up a colony (usually 2 males and about 4-5 females), and let them do their thing, and grow up the babies until I had a good enough stock of them, I would cull the colony and when my supply got low, I would get another group to start up.

I could have sold the extras, but they are so prolific, and with the larger litters, it can easily become a problem with freezer space.

I never had any problem with biters, but I was quick when changing bedding and such.

They are cute little critters, and I do enjoy them when I have them.
I will likely start up another colony in the next few months.
 
Old 03-22-2016, 09:05 PM   #7
BeauBoi
Well...STILL haven't got to work on my racks! Why, oh why, does real life to suck so bad? Why does it always get in the way...? <shakes fist at sky> <sigh>

None the less, the ASFs just keep on reproducing! :-D had a second set of babies (~10) last night! That makes 2 out of 3 of my groups that have produced now!
I will be keeping females from each litter to build up my breeding groups to 1:4, and all males will be fed off. I can't believe that I didn't start breeding sooner!

Beau
 

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