Multimammate Mouse, Common African Rat, Soft-furred or African Soft-furred Rat

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Please clean their enclosure's at least once a week. .

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I have to respectibly disagree with this. I am on a 2 week cleaning schedule, and have been for a long time.

I admit I haven't a true idea of exactly how large a 10 gallon tankis that you are using, or what numbers you keep them at, but I have let mine go once or twice to a two week period and it was pretty disgusting. (The 54 and 66qt tubs)

So I guess we will just disagree on that point.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Notice, just because you can't smell them, doesn't mean they dont smell, or that they aren't pooping and peeing all day long and have to live in it.

Please clean their enclosure's at least once a week. I again, understand no one but ME can smell these ASF's, but I apparently have a very sensitive nose to them because after one week the smell makes me want to get sick. I have grown more used to it now, but it's still a very strong (although not largly permeating) odor.

Saying you only need to change them when YOU smell them is not sanitary, given they are living right in it and on top of it, and are far more capable than us with scent sensitivity, you should clean it more often to prevent the bacteria growth from their excrements. Especially seeing as how most of them choose one spot to pee and poop in, it's terribly unhealthy to let them sit in it for weeks at a time.

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I have the same problem. I cant go over a week without being horrified by the smell. But I think I have a strong sensitivity to them as well. I seem to be the only one who has an issue. And normally will have a breathing issue as well. As long as they are cleaned once a week I have no real issue though. Summer months I usually clean twice a week.

Hi sorry if this has been mentioned before, but how did the asf prices develop in the US. I bought mine for 3,50 € (1 € equals 1,40 $) and i know it was too much, cause i have seen them for 1 € at a local reptile show, but the shop was something similar to petco, I guess and I was in a shopping mood.
Just want to know , because the guy in the other thread seems to expect some financial offspring from breeding those fuzzies.

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Originally Posted by FlowRock

Hi sorry if this has been mentioned before, but how did the asf prices develop in the US. I bought mine for 3,50 € (1 € equals 1,40 $) and i know it was too much, cause i have seen them for 1 € at a local reptile show, but the shop was something similar to petco, I guess and I was in a shopping mood.
Just want to know , because the guy in the other thread seems to expect some financial offspring from breeding those fuzzies.

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Hey I heard they came from Europe? as pets? is that true my German friend?

Well i have seen them quite a while ago, but was not that much interested in them, because i had no need for feeders and kept cats as pets in this time, but i am quite sure they have been available around 2002/2003 for sure. At this time the price was around 12,50 € ( at this time the dollar was bit worth more...:D)
Their biggest plus was their lack of smell, as far as i remember.

Wow, I can't believe the price some people are paying for these things. I've had them here in south central Kansas for a bit now, I didn't pay, nor do I ask, near what some of your guys are talking about........

Like anything new and in demand people will charge what they can get. And if you are starting a colony you might pay a little extra for something nice as soon you'll have a ton of them and the per rat allocation for the high priced founders will be nothing. I didn't word that very well... Example, I paid $60 for my first 2.6. Just by luck they are very nice ASF's (although I found out the other day will bite if restrained, but don't run up to you and bite like other's I've seen). I also paid $16 for an unrelated 1.3. The first group costing me an extra $3.50 per rat is nothing when I consider the couple hundred offspring they have already produced. I fed the $16 1.3 off yesterday and am going to see if daughters from the one and only litter they ever produced do better (maybe the male was old in that group). I did sell my first animals recently, 1.3 for a $7 massive bag of bedding and two feeder mice.

Incidentally I paid nearly $20 for a hamster for my daughter's Christmas present yesterday. Cute little girl, black with white band around the middle. At those prices I think I'm going to have to find her a yellow gene male so she can sell calicos and I can stop paying allowance.

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Originally Posted by RandyRemington

Incidentally I paid nearly $20 for a hamster for my daughter's Christmas present yesterday. Cute little girl, black with white band around the middle. At those prices I think I'm going to have to find her a yellow gene male so she can sell calicos and I can stop paying allowance.

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Thats hilarious!

Do they realy smell less? I am forced to breed due to living so far from a pet shop. I have both rats and mice, and if I don't clean every 3 days the room is horrid, and no matter what I use the smell comes back way too fast. I was wondering what are the cage space requirements on them? are they like rats and need a bunch of space, or do they make due with less? If they are so great, where can I find some in SD? I just wonder, I'm tired of these darn rats. I have a couple rats that are pets, but the rest just anoy me. Does anyone know anyone else who does not want ASF's anymoer but would trade for rats 2rats for 1 asf?
It seems I live in a dead zone, no reptile breeders, no rodent breeders, not even a pet shop within 50mi.

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Originally Posted by JamieC

Do they realy smell less? I am forced to breed due to living so far from a pet shop. I have both rats and mice, and if I don't clean every 3 days the room is horrid, and no matter what I use the smell comes back way too fast. I was wondering what are the cage space requirements on them? are they like rats and need a bunch of space, or do they make due with less? If they are so great, where can I find some in SD? I just wonder, I'm tired of these darn rats. I have a couple rats that are pets, but the rest just anoy me. Does anyone know anyone else who does not want ASF's anymoer but would trade for rats 2rats for 1 asf?
It seems I live in a dead zone, no reptile breeders, no rodent breeders, not even a pet shop within 50mi.

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I have had mine for about two weeks and cleaned them once NO SMELL!!!!

But then again you can ask Connie!!!!

Mby one day I will be able to find some, maby on a vacation sometime.

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Originally Posted by JamieC

Does anyone know anyone else who does not want ASF's anymoer but would trade for rats 2rats for 1 asf?

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Just a reminder that inquiries like this need to be made in the For Sale/Trade/Wanted forum and not in the regular forums. Thanks!:)

I recently found out that your bedding can make a difference on smell.

I had been using the big bags of pine that Wal-Mart sells for $6. A friend found that you could get an even bigger bag from a garden/landscape store for $7. It looked like a better deal until I cleaned at the end of the first week. The new stuff was cut thicker and doesn't absorb moisture as well. Parts of most every tub was wet to the bottom which I hadn't been seeing with the thinner sliced Wal-Mart pine so I'm going back to that.

Come warmer weather I'm definitely putting some ventilation in (probably a bathroom fan). It's not too bad now (would be with mice or Norway rats) but even the ASF's use some water so need some ventilation to help dry it out.

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Originally Posted by JamieC

If they are so great, where can I find some in SD? I just wonder, I'm tired of these darn rats.

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Eastern or Western SD? There was a lady from Rapid City that came down to the Denver show in August. I think her business was Knockout Corns or something like that. Don't know if she is going to do that regularly but there is a January 31st show and although live rodents aren't allowed in the building if you arranged something ahead of time someone could probably bring some to the parking lot at the end.

I switched to equine fresh from aspen, and it's like night and day. There is now no smell at all.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Just a reminder that inquiries like this need to be made in the For Sale/Trade/Wanted forum and not in the regular forums. Thanks!:)

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Sorry, I'll try to remember that.





Western SD...Rapid is about 45 miles from me. I live rite by the SD/WY border

I just got my first breeding quad of these things. Jumpy little guys.
They are all getting along great. No fights yet.
I have them in glass 30 gallon aquariums with aspen bedding.
Ill have to get some of that equine stuff and might mix it 50/50. They are messing up the cage I made for them. I got a small bird feeder that sits an inch off the ground filled with wild bird seed. They spread the seed all over the cage then Ate the plastic feeder.
Maybe I need to put more things in there to keep them entertained.
They have a hamster wheel and a stack of PVC tubes to play in.

They don't seem mean at all,just jumpy. Mine haven't tried to bite me yet but that might change when they're established.