African Soft-Furred Rats

I'm on the African Soft-Furred Rats bandwagon. Yesterday while at a little local pet store I saw that they had some ASFR's. So last night I read up on them, got a basic gist on and how to care for them. Thanks A LOT Heath for answering my questions! Today I went back and bought a trio of 1 male and 2 females. Set them up and they are good to go. They are adorable but I won't dare to touch them. The girl who got them for me had one latch onto her hand... yeah that wasn't pretty! http://primevalbeauty.com/gallery/ma...serialNumber=2


http://primevalbeauty.com/gallery/ma...serialNumber=2


Last thing... does anyone know anything about needing a license from the USDA to own these animals? I was told today by someone that I'll need one here in Maryland, but I've not been able to find anything about it.

Oh. My. Gosh! They are SO cute...I just want to cuddle them :) I imagine seeing one bite the snot out of some girl is a deterrant...but I don't know if I could keep from holding one for long.

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

Oh. My. Gosh! They are SO cute...I just want to cuddle them :) I imagine seeing one bite the snot out of some girl is a deterrant...but I don't know if I could keep from holding one for long.

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They are mean...don't let their cute looks fool you. Whenever I open their cages they stare at me and if I make a move toward them the male comes after me:mad: . So now I wear gloves whenever I work with them.

But the biting is really a minor issue - they stay small, don't stink and so far breed great.

Allison...I am sure Heath told you but if not he started a great site about them to share info on for all us new breeders.


http://www.asfrats.info/index.php

See you there.

Aww... they look like little possums! :aww:

Nice pics. I breed ASF rats as well and got rid of my mice once I got them breeding.

Do all of yours look the same? black coat, white head and white tail area? If so then all the babies will look exactly like those. And a dilute (tan) version of the same if you have the pink eye dilute gene in them.

At first all that mattered was the producstion. Now that they are breeding so well, I'm actually trying to breed them for the various possible coat types and colors.

Awesome! I've actually been checking my IM list to see if you where available so I could ask you if went back and got them. Very cute to look at and watch indeed but ALWAYS practice quick hand/eye coordination when trying to grab one for feeding LOL. I think you will enjoy them and feel free to keep the questions coming.

Cool looking rats. Im in MD too. If you dont touch them how do you clean there containers? Do you use tongs?

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Originally Posted by Tony25

Cool looking rats. Im in MD too. If you dont touch them how do you clean there containers? Do you use tongs?

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In my case wear gloves and be very quick :D

Alli, a couple quick tips on these rats, I have been doing them for awhile and love them....and hate them. they are very prolific. make sure you get a chew proof water bottle(super pets). and put a couple small blocks of wood in with them to chew on, dont even think about touching them. :P I am not a wuss, but have been bitten soo much I use a fish tank net to move them around with. dont think you can handle them with their tails, that will be a bloody mistake. :)