African Soft furred

They are coming (have been) into the trade. I see them at shows, just keep your eyes open. I think they are spreading fast and propagating faster.

I would like to raise them just out of curiosity, but havn't found any locally.

The biting point is a major negative, as I have a ton of rats now and can count on two fingers how many times I've been bitten in 9 months.

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

I would like to raise them just out of curiosity, but havn't found any locally.

The biting point is a major negative, as I have a ton of rats now and can count on two fingers how many times I've been bitten in 9 months.

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There pretty much at most shows now days and fairly reasonable as far as pricing goes.

Their bitters for sure but they can probably be tamed down a tad with regular handling if you really tried. Just wear some welding gloves:O

I wouldn't let the biting factor deter anyone...all animals will bite given the circumstances.

Like Larry said, you could handle them regularly. I don't handle my growing colony other than necessary and they are not biting me when I get into their tubs.

I heard the word bite and the word rat in the same sentence and I wince. Ive been bitten badly by a few rats, the second time through thick leather gloves :)

So when you say they are bitey, do you mean nippy? Or do they mean business?

I have only had mine about three days. They are very small yet and all they do is hide. I named them breakfast, LUnch and Dinner. I hope they will provide me with many side entrees. Lunch is my larger female and she is quite bold, exploring and eating already. I haven't picked them up yet since they are stressed but I did get to pet Breakfast, She is very soft and just sat there...Porbably scared out of her mind. They are cute, I don't think they look like regular rats at all...

Larry, you have a very cute rat there.

I got mine at a retile show. If there is a show near you, you should check it out. Shipping live animals is a pain or I would sell you some of my future babies.

Come get some of mine. Aren't the fuzzys the ugliest things ever? Remind me of a half-fledged bird.
Wolfy

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Originally Posted by Wolfsnaps

Larry, you have a very cute rat there.

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Thanx

Do you keep them in plastic tubs or glass tanks? I've heard that they are chewers too. What kind of feed do you use? Same stuff as for regular rats?

Mark

Hey Mark, I don't find them to be as bad as gerbils when it comes to chewing but they are bad no less. I keep all the groups of 1.2 in rat mommy bins b/c they would chew a home depot tub in no time. My mommy bins are all 1/4 hardwire cloth and they tend to be a bare by chewing the food through the cloth and not eating it so I think 1/8 would be a better choice. I've been using the same feed Mazuri lab blocks with success ie large litters and heathly babies with mommy recovering just fine.

hope this helps