bigger monsters than i thought

that may work too
the wheel seems to be the peace keeper in the addition of the male

Matt

Just because things seem peaceful now does not mean the inevitable won't happen again. There is no doubt in my mind that if the girls attacked the genitals of the last male, they will do the same with this one in time. If the babies are born they will likely mostly all be killed by either the mom, strange male, or both. REMOVE the new male and simply set up a new breeding group with the kids. Some things can't be rushed.

When I bought my colonies, they had the males males and females in the same tank. 4 of the 5 females gave birth within 2 weeks, and I didn't have any problems out of the males with regards to killing off babies.

That is likely due to high colony numbers. When there are enough females to go around, males tend to not be as terrirtorial of females and it's pretty much a free for all.

However, it is highly risky, seeing as the females or males can easily attack because of feeling stressed from too high in numbers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

i've always wanted to know if anyone has ever REALLY tried to find ways to introduce new males to an established colony.

What if pull one of the females and introduce the male? One female isn't exactly a "colony" anymore

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Yes, I have. It didn't work.

If the female has pups, she will defend them.

well im hoping to keep this male just long enough to get them all preggo and just split them up into 2 groups and raise up a male. Its been a couple days and they seem fine. Could it maybe be that the other male was a pretty horny rat he would almost constantly be humping one after the other.
if they kill this male i will just get new trios and feed these off
Thanks everyone!

I have relocated males from one colony to another and haven't had any issues. Sometimes it does take a few weeks before the male will interact with the females though. And think its due to the fact the male is basically the lowest on the totem pole in there social organization, and all males seem to know that, so they dont over step there boundries with the females cuz they know they will lose, I have successfully added females to breeding groups to but not as commonly as males and the fighting goes up exponentially. And think it happens cuz the females build that I am top dog reputation and none of them want to lose there pre established place.

At least thats what I have experienced and concluded in my colonies.

Not talking about anyone in particular in this thread.

Generally speaking, any time someone points out something that shouldn't be done, and gives the facts of why it shouldn't be done.... There will always be someone who chimes in and says they do it without issue.

Can there be instances when you are able to introduce a new male or female to an established ASF colony? sure. Should it be done? NO. More times then not it ends in a bloody fight, and animals suffer for no good reason.

Sometimes we loose sight when dealing with feeders. Bottom line is they are living, breathing creatures that depend on us for their care. Until they are fed off, treat them right. Avoid situations that are known to cause problems for them in there short lives.

you have a good point there mike, and i can tell you know i won't be doing that again for the sake of the animal.
but... on the bright side
They male interacts with the females like he has always been apart of the group. I think i have a couple prego but i cant really tell yet. They seem to be going really good though

IDK the breeder I got mine from just threw any 3 together from differant tubs and I haven't had any issues with fighting. If your going to introduce a new male. Scrub the cage, let the male sit in the old litter then put them in at the same time. Usually for other creatures like my dwarf hamsters rarely are there fights after I do this. Just for fun I put a pinky rat in with my hamsters and they are nursing it:) can't wait until it's older to tell the poor baby it's not a hamster so it'll never have neat cheek storage:)