second litter...

dont know much about ASFs - only started breeding them this year...

soo...... is it normal for a female to have a second litter without the re-introduction of a male?
one of my females had her 1st litter a while ago (was put in a seperate tub whilst pregnant)
the little ones are now about 1.5/1.75" body length

i noticed a few days ago the mother was getting a 'golf-ball' appearance again, so put the 1st litter with other similar sized ones
mother has just had another 8 babies today!?!
no male has been near/can get to her, since the early stages of her 1st pregnancy

as said..... 'is it normal'?

thanks

You shouldnt take any of the breeders out of the group as when you put them back they might kill each other. Maybey they are like balls so they can hold sperm for a long time?

haha thats pretty interesting...i know they definitely don't have any problem reproducing thats for sure!

These are very interesting animals. The mother was removed before delivery, and has not been introduced to ANY other adults? If that is the case, my thought is this. IF the enclosure you put her in was smaller, her body may have only produced half the litter. Then when you weaned that litter, it may have finished. I definitely notice that when I dont wean properly that litters are smaller. They regulate themselves to what they percieve the conditions for survival are.

Your situation I have not seen. You should keep your colonies together. They need the social interaction, and will actually help rear each others young. The first litter can become a victim of this practice, as anything that scares them can create a massacre. But in the long run your production will be better that way.

took this female out of the group and put her in a smaller breeding cage when i noticed she was getting a bit porky
i do this because i've had problems with new-borns being eaten

she dropped about 7-9 days later (if i remember correctly), and had 11 in the 1st litter
as said in my original post - she then dropped this second litter of 8 (of which only 6 have made it), after the first lot had 'as near as' weaned

no other males or females can/could get to her - she's on a different shelf...

Do not separate them this brings stress once they are acclimated and comfortable they will not eat any of the babies. The best approach with ASF's is to leave them in groups of 1.2 and let them do there thing. Trust me you won't be sorry they breed like crazy.

Ive got a related question about breeding and the litter. After the baby soft furs are weened and you want to hold them aside for a while to grow, can you keep males in one container and females in another so they grow without the chance of breeding? I would think it would work since they were all born together. I just got a 1:3 ratio of soft furs yesterday and want to be ready for when they produce. There mainly feeders but i dont have small snakes to feed the young ones to and i have to let some grow to adult size for my 500g bp.

Thats fine as long as you don't plan on throwing males with females once they are adults. If and when you decide on keeping more trio's or groups grow them up together.

I suggest placing breeding groups of asf's together at weanling size.
Adding a male to a group of females can have dire consequences.
I have never had issues with groups raised together, adding one to existing groups, oh yeah, trouble trouble.
Rats breed when they are ready, very few get pregnant before their bodies are able to handle the pregnancy.