Asf to rats

[StillBP]

I have a male ghi het red axanthic. When I bought him he was feeding on live( they never said live what). I feed mostly live out of convenience for me. So feeding live was not a issue. However when I got him he didn't eat for almost 10 months ( some of you will remember my post back then) I finally got him to eat a ASF. Now he eats regular and fathered 3 clutches for me this season. But I really want to get him off ASF. But no matter what I try he just refuses anything but them. So I'm asking for anyone who has had success switching to please give me any tips you might have. I have tried senting, switching prey items, I have only been offering mice and rats but we are coming up on 3 months now with out him feeding and I really don't want to wait much longer before I give in and give him a ASF

[artgecko]

I have a pastave girl that took f/t rats like a champ...until she decided she didn't want to anymore. We went about 6 months without a reliable feed, then I ended up trying first mice and then ASF (f/t). What worked for me, was to offer either a mouse or ASF first, then after a successful strike / feed (~20 mins or so) go back and offer a small rat..which she would then take because she was in feeding mode and there might have been some scent from the other prey still lingering.

I am now at the stage where I am going to start just scenting the other prey and see if she will take it.

Maybe try my technique above and see if he will accept that..that would at least cut down on the number of ASF you need to use, then he might be more accepting of the other prey items afterwards.

[Jbarrett]

I understand the frustrations, I have a very similar thing going on right now. I bought a male and he would not eat, luckily I do have ASF's around. After several months of him not eating I threw an ASF in just to mix it up. He did not hesitate to strike and take it down, he was starving after all. Unfortunately, he is now on ASF's permanently I think. He will not switch to anything with the above methods you have already tried. Sorry could not be more help, sometimes they just want to eat what they want I guess.

[Sunnieskys]

What's ASF?

[tttaylorrr]

What's ASF?

african soft furs

[Sunnieskys]

african soft furs

Never heard of it. Off to research lol

[JoeNapoli]

... I really want to get him off ASF...

Why?

[StillBP]

Why?

Because ASF are not easy to find around here. And when I do find them I have to buy 20 because of the fact that I can't always find them. Add to that that when I do find them they are all males and if you put them in the same holding cage they kill each other. So for me it's a royal pain to keep him on soft furs.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

[JoeNapoli]

That sucks. They're not easy to find around here either. I had to go all the way to Hamburg, PA, which is farther from me than it is from you there in Pittsburgh, PA. But over the years I have acquired many females from that expo (always choose the smallest, those are the females) and from outside that expo in the parking lot. (By the way, just in case you haven't been, the Hamburg expos are awesome, frequented by people from several different states, evident by the license plates @ parking lot.)

Males in the same holding cage kill each other? Huh? That means the dealer is mixing males from different colonies before they are sold to you. ASF brothers raised together do not kill each other, as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West they do not kill each other. Especially in the absence of females they will not bicker at all. So you are having to maintain 20 separate holding cages? Jeez man, that does indeed suck! I have 20+ cages, but each cage = a whole colony, not just 1 male LOL. I feel for ya man, coz if you could get a hold of some females you would find breeding ASFs is a joy, IMO (we are onto 2 unique color lines), and odorless at that. We even keep them indoors, upwind of our dining room & kitchen LOL. Could never do that with common, barf-inducing rats. [check out "ASF's in the kitchen" on YouTube] Make the long drive up to Poughkeepsie, NY for the next expo and I'll give you a female to get you started.

Have you tried frozen ASF? ASF rats, even frozen, still beat common rats. Ball Pythons evolved on ASF and other African prey for a kazillion years and that's what they do best on. Common rats (European/Asian) are a relatively new, fattening, garbage food for them, provided to them only with the last ~100 years or so, and only in captivity, and only in captivity outside of the African continent.

I guess it just boils down to making the extra effort, or risking another 10 month fast. Good luck to ya bro.

[StillBP]

Yea if I had a steady supply of ASF all my breeders would get them. But sadly I don't. And I've been to Hamburg but not this year. I'm hosting my own show in Indiana PA but our first one is still a few weeks away. Hoping to get a soft fur person there. I have a rat vendor but they don't always have ASF. I might have to make a trip to Hamburg soon. If he doesn't switch.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk