asf RATS as pets

:whisper: Hey guys....this thread is 4 1/2 years old. I don't think the OP even visits here anymore, and I seriously doubt ASF's go for anywhere near that price anymore. :P

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Originally Posted by JLC

:whisper: Hey guys....this thread is 4 1/2 years old. I don't think the OP even visits here anymore, and I seriously doubt ASF's go for anywhere near that price anymore. :P

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Bahahah just noticed that. Still an interesting thread to read.

I guess all I'm saying is people will pay what they'll pay and thats between the seller and buyer. As far as pet status every animal we have as pets today was (and some still are) nasty little critters at some point in their history, from dogs to rats to parrots to beardies, etc. Its all a matter of the time hobbyists devote to making them suitable. People just haven't devoted enough time to ASF's yet. I'm willing to bet someday we will see ASF's next to brown rats at the pet store and they'll be completely suitable as pets, more so then gerbils hamsters and mice anyway. On a sidenote my asf's that are socialized remind me more of rats then mice personality wise anyway and one of the females seeks out human attention and bruxes when you rub her head.

And yes lol this is a very old thread and price probably isn't an issue anymore.

check this out!!!

http://i55.tinypic.com/2rzcvba.jpg

AMAZING!!!!! shes super sweet and only nibbles very gently.

old thread, but I have never been bit by any of my ASF's in my colonies, even the moms with newborns, of course I usually culled the nasty ones and bred the sweet ones, this could have something to do with it? I think they make great pets if handled properly. :cool:

The mouseagility folks on youtube have ASF they've trained to do tricks and they handle them just fine. I did see the date on the beginning, and perhaps back 5 years ago the species were much less tameable, as only a couple years is a LOT of generations for breeding for temperament.

And I remember the prices being easily that high 5 years ago, but I agree with those that say the shop owner is welcome to charge whatever price she wishes. If you think it's too much, don't buy them. Same thing I tell anyone who gripes that a BP morph is "over-priced" and thinks the seller is ripping people off by charging a high price. If it's YOUR snake, charge whatever you want. If it's HIS/HER snake, they can charge whatever they want. If you don't like the price, go buy elsewhere.

A woman I have breeding asf's for me has some very tame friendly asf's, she's worked with them for many generations now.
While not as friendly and out going as my norwegian rats she's amazed me with how tame she's gotten them.
I've lost more than a few chunks of skin to the little :cens0r:

'The mouse Agility people' = Marina ;)
She is a member here, as well as on softfurs.com, and definitely had the most tame ASFs I know of!

I have one ASF that I consider 100% tame. The rest are still a tad wild, but none bite or anything.

But in my case, tame doesn't mean that they are friendly. I get bitten almost every day. ;)
I even find that the more aggressive they are, the tamer they can get. Aggressive ones are just the least fearful. So, as long as you keep your fingers away from their mouth, aggressive ASF's can become great pets and behave almost like Norway rats (I find them even funnier, more intelligent and much more playful).

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Originally Posted by susi´s trainer

But in my case, tame doesn't mean that they are friendly. I get bitten almost every day. ;)
I even find that the more aggressive they are, the tamer they can get. Aggressive ones are just the least fearful. So, as long as you keep your fingers away from their mouth, aggressive ASF's can become great pets and behave almost like Norway rats (I find them even funnier, more intelligent and much more playful).

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Wait, what do you consider tame? If something bites me, I don't consider it tame at all. LOL.