ASF cage photos - at long last!

I finally got Bill out to photograph some of my ASF and their cages.

First photo - one of 6 bins (2' x 4' each) that hold either ASF or regular rats. Note the water pipe - it goes into a small cage on the outside of the bin, and holds a dog "Lixit" for automatic water. There is a funnel underneath that drains the excess water, so it never goes into the cage. Also note the flat piece of cardboard - that covers their "burrow". The hamster wheel is wired to the top of the cage so it doesn't get mired down in the shavings.




This is what is under the cardboard. They like to burrow in the wild, so I give them my version of a burrow, using scrap pieces of wood and cardboard that will get dirty and / or chewed up in a couple of months. I often find moms and babies in one chamber, and other adults and weanlings in the other.




Large adult ASF. I haven't weighed mine, but they seem to be the size of large gerbils. I keep about 2.18 per bin, although sometimes a few more, or a few less.




Many people say they are vicious, but it seems to depend on bloodline. Mine don't seem any worse than my rats or mice.

Thanks for sharing Kathy! I know Joe has been experimenting with ours to find the right combination for successful offspring rearing and he has also found that giving them places to burrow makes a big difference. Before - they kept cannibalizing their offspring, but now that they have plenty of places to hide with them we have had a much better success rate.

And you are lucky yours are so docile. We have one trio that Joe spent a lot of time handling and petting that are ok, but the others are just downright mean. ESPECIALLY if they have offspring they are defending. I have never seen mice or rats defend their young the way these guys will. They literally attack if you go in to try to get the young. Joe now uses a set of plastic salad tongs to reach in and grab the babies - and they attack it too - but at least it isn't a hand!!

Thanks for the photos Kathy. I wonder if their temperament is environmental. You cage is much bigger than most I have seen and you groups are much larger. Your burrowing idea is something I think most are lacking. Maybe yours are calmer because they are happier.

I don't thinks so, although it could help.

When I got my first 2 trios, I kept each trio in a mouse breeding cat pan. They were a bit crowded there, especially with babies. It was only when I raised their babies up as breeders that I set up the bigger cages. I believe it is mostly bloodlines, tempered by environment and handling when young. I don't really handle mine much at all, but other people do, and it helps some.

When I first got them, I read up on them a bit, and found out they live in large colonies and burrowed a lot. And I quickly found out that males don't fight nearly as much as male mice and rats. So I decided to try 2 males. I find beat up females more often than beat up males, but still pretty rarely is it a problem. By keeping so many, I can pull out a bad female or two and still have a nice group.

I would like to experiment with a bigger burrow system, almost a double decker cage, which would double the floor space. And I would like to put hamster wheels in all of the cages. I just experimented with the first one to see if they would use it, or if it would get stuck in the shavings too much. But it has worked well.

I will be very careful in acquiring any future stock to outcross my own stock. I will check for tameness when I buy them, and pass over any overly aggressive ASF for future breeders. And if any male attacks me, he is snake food right away, since I have 2 in each cage. But that has happened only once or twice. Just as in snakes, it is REALLY important to have the best (tamest, in rodents) male you can get, since his genes will be represented in each baby in the cage (or would be, if you had only one male), compared to each female's genes only represented in their own litter. (I know that info is old news for you and other experienced breeders, but am assuming some new hobbyists might read this, too, and might find it a helpful point to consider).

Interesting. Are you sure that both of your males are breeding or could there be an alpha male and a beta male? Like with some of the big cat and dog species. I believe Meerkats do that as well.

There very well could be - I don't watch them THAT carefully, lol!

Whenever I set up MICE, I always set up 2.8 or so. Then, after the first litter is born, I take out whichever male is beat up, especially with bite marks around his tail. The reason I start with two males is because it is not unusual for a male to die - seems like the females sometimes beat up on him. So I start with 2 and take 1 out, if both survive. I assume that the one with the bite marks is the "loser" and I remove him. I don't know for a fact that is true, but it seems to work for me.

But in ASF, I rarely see damage to one of the males, or any other signs of submission / dominance, so I don't know if there is a winner / loser situation. As long as I get babies and there is a male in reserve if needed, it doesn't matter a lot to me. But it would be interesting to know. Maybe a good study subject for a college biology student?

Very interesting setup! Thanks for posting and giving me some ideas on how to set up mine!

Love the set-up and the ASF's they are so furry and cute!!

Cows are mostly artificially inseminated these days. But when they are using a bull with a herd, they hang a bag of chalk around the bull’s neck so it hangs down in front of his chest. Then the rancher can look and see which cows have chalk on their rumps to know which ones have been bred. You could try with two different colors of chalk and see which one of the boys is getting all the action.

I don't think I want to know THAT badly, lol!

They chew too much - a bag around the neck is probably out. I guess you could dust the male directly, but you would have to do it constantly. Good project for a student, or maybe a retired person with lots of time on their hands?

Aw, come on Kathy, what you going to do for the rest of the day. I think I'm going to take a nap.

Uh...read the Sunday paper? Play with the cats? Surf the Net?

Hubby is taking a nap. That is WAY too boring. Come to think of it, the cats are ALSO napping! Guess I won't play with them right now.

Great looking pictures Kathy! Could you take the time to explain your watering system more in depth with perhaps pictures on how you put it together?

Rebecca

I don't have any photos of how we put it together. But maybe I can get Bill to take a close up of the little "cage". He built a little cage, just big enough for a rat to get its head and neck into it. He attached the Lixit (you can buy them at a pet shop or feed store, made for dogs) to PVC pipe connected to the water system, and put it inside the little cage. Then he has a separate set of PVC pipes underneath the Lixit, that catch the runoff, and take it outside to water the plants. The rats just push the Lixit, which opens the valve so they can drink. Since the water is outside the cage, it can never flood the cage like mouse water founts can (because they stick into the cage, and sometimes stick in the "on" position). We have been using the Lixit system for rats for at least 2 - 3 years, and so far have never had one malfunction.

Hope that explains it. Some close up photos would probably help.

Nice pics..My days with owning mice, hamsters or rats is long gone..lol..I haven't had anything like that since I was 14..lol