African Soft Fur Rats saved a life

[MeinDraco]

Hey, thought I would share. I got this little male Lesser in December 2011 from a local breeder that sold him off cheap because he wasn't eating. He was 64 grams when I got him and he didn't eat on his own for over 3 months. I had to assist feed him every week for 3 months. I tried every trick in the book to try to get him to feed on his own. then got to the point where I had to force feed him. I was about to give up too. he got down to 59 grams at the lowest. I didn't know about ASF's at the time. I finally read about ASF's and some people were sceptical whether they will turn on a picky eater. I tracked down a guy who had them and bought some fuzzy crawlers. I dropped one in his tub and within 3 minutes he nailed it on his own. needless to say I was thrilled, more relieved that maybe it was finally going to be ok now. We were both exhausted. Well, he eats like a beast now...I give him a mix of ASF's and mice and rat pups. He first ate on his own on March 14th. He pooped today and I weighed him at 155 grams. More than doubled his weight in 5 weeks. He is very happy and healthy and one of my favorites. Needless to say I am a big fan of the ASF's I have a 5 colonies now. I feed them to my other BP's too along with Norwegian rats and no one has gotten stuck on ASF's like rumors have it.

These are pics from today

[Royal Hijinx]

Strong work! Good job on him, he looks great.

[rebelrachel13]

Congratulations!! What a good story. Glad to see such a gorgeous snake with a happy ending.

[MeinDraco]

Congratulations!! What a good story. Glad to see such a gorgeous snake with a happy ending.

Thank you...me too. Toward the end of the force feedings like #10 I was really starting to despise getting him. I had other breeders say to euthanize him. but I was going to keep trying as long as he kept 'em down. Man I hated feeding day! and so did he. I feel guilty for feeling that way because I love the little guy now. He really surprised me....and surprised those breeders who suggested I euthanize him too.

[whispersinmyhead]

Great story. Looks like beautiful healthy snake now and in a short amount of time.

Gives me another option with mine if she doesn't start eating for me. Are ASF's readily available or hard to find? Expensive?

[I-KandyReptiles]

Depending on your location, ASFs can range from $1 to $50 :o

I just learned about ASFs and that they are legal where I live (live Norway rats are illegal and if caught with one $5000 fine) and I got a 1:3 colony for $25


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[alittleFREE]

Amazing success story! So glad he's eating well now. He looks great.

[Simple Man]

Very cool! Thank god you persisted.

Regards,

B

[MeinDraco]

Great story. Looks like beautiful healthy snake now and in a short amount of time.

Gives me another option with mine if she doesn't start eating for me. Are ASF's readily available or hard to find? Expensive?

Thanks...They are difficult but not impossible to find. Your best bet is to search on craigslist. That's how I found mine. type in ASF under the pets search section and you should pull something up. I got mine for $4.00 each. I recently found a guy who sells them for $2.00 each. They are smaller as adults and grow a lot slower than normal rats. it take about 3-4 months from birth to get to about 70grams. full adult size is about 100grams. I breed them now and have to still buy large ones until my weened ones get bigger. another benefit too is that they have little to no smell. I clean their cage about once every 7-10 days and even then it doesn't smell. a Norwegian rat would stink up the neighborhood in 3 days. here is a website that tells about them and some breeders who have them http://www.sapphiretigress.com/Softfurs.htm

funny story...just this week I met a guy who has 3 picky eaters and they missed breeding season because they went off feed. I brought over some soft furs and 2 of the 3 ate right away, he about fell over because they hadn't eaten in months either.

[nmans]

Thats a great story! I'm glad you shared it, I breed ASF in Kansas and so often I hear people say once you feed your snakes ASF they wont eat anything else, it is such nonsense. I think people who breed Norwegians and mice made it up to stay in business,lol. I feed all my snakes ASF and can go to the pet store and get mice or Norwegians and any one of my snakes will take them. I fed only mice and Norwegians when I first started out, and my snakes would get to a certain weight and stall out and go off food. I have yet to have that happen feeding them ASF they always greedily take them. I am thrilled your little lesser pulled through! I will say ASF can be tricky to breed, but once you get the hang of it get ready for the biblical plague! Check out my video on YouTube my contact email is on the video, I have been breeding them for awhile now and have a lot of helpful tips for you if you run into any problems. Keep that little lesser fat and happy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hurK4XJ-ooY&feature=plcp