Ball Pythons getting hooked on ASFs

I think this is a discussion worth having because there seems to be this huge misconception that all ball pythons will get hooked on African Soft Furred rats and will be very hard to switch back over to mice or rats.

I'm trying to understand where this is coming from because based on my own experience, and the experience of other keepers, this claim is completely false.

In my opinion a ball python is just as likely to imprint on a mouse, rat, or gerbil, than an ASF.

I'm looking for anyone who has consistently observed their snakes imprinting on ASFs more than another feeder type. I feel like ASFs get a really bad reputation and people are afraid to feed them to their snakes for fear of them getting "hooked". We all know ball pythons are picky eaters. Can't we just attribute their preference for ASFs to their particularly picky tendencies?

I know this has been brought up in the past, but I think it is a topic worth revisiting every so often.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t=asfs+imprint
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t=asfs+imprint

I bought some ASFs for a couple ball pythons that seemed to be uninterested in my rats and I would have rather bred a small group of ASFs for these guys than try breeding mice. They didnt care for the ASFs and I had to get them started on mice and eventually converted to rats. I have fed ASFs to all of my snakes. Some of them had ASFs as much as 4 feedings in a row. They were eating rats just as easily after I fed off the ASFs I had. I still have a couple ASFs but will be giving them to a friend for his snakes as I dont really need them. I heard ASFs were like crack for snakes and that made me a little cautious but needed to get these guys started on something OTHER than mice which failed.... Myth busted.

Reading over old threads just confirms my opinions. The people who have great experience switching both hatchlings and adults from one food source to another have way more problems moving a mouser to rats than an ASFer to rats. In all cases, breeders had ZERO problems converting hatchlings from ASF to rats. So why are buyers still so afraid of purchasing a snake that has eaten ASF? Especially if it has eaten rats as well?

When my babies hatch, I will start them all on ASF and make sure they have at least one f/t rat pup before they leave my care. I am even willing to provide a money back guarantee for any snake that does not eat rats/mice.

Having bred ASFs for years and fed them to my ball pythons, I know this is a myth. Mice are WAY more addictive due to their strong scent. I have one snake that never would switch from mice to soft furs.

But all of my soft fur eaters would always take mice, and usually rats as well. <--- meant to add that.

Honestly from my point is this, if there is a chance for my new snake to be hooked on something i can not procure in a timely manner, then i would rather not take a chance on an ASF'r, Mice and rats for my location are expensive and hard to get so i am stuck with mail order rodent pops. misconception or not, it is out there and is a concern for those who do not breed their own food stock for their animals, or have had the experience on a repetitive basis to attempt the ASF to Rat/Mouse switch. just my thoughts.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

So why are buyers still so afraid of purchasing a snake that has eaten ASF?
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Personally, I'm worried about snakes that have only eaten ASFs and nothing else. I live in a state where ASFs are illegal. So finding an ASF source just in case the snake doesn't take a rat our mouse is nearly impossible. I do know *one* source. But they price their underground ASFs at $25 a pop.
Hardly worth a feeder in my opinion...

So I'd rather just not take the chance and buy a strict rat/mouse feeder.

I would have no issues with ASFs if they were more abundant in my area ....
I would actually prefer to breed them over Norway rats.

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Originally Posted by jcoylesr76

Honestly from my point is this, if there is a chance for my new snake to be hooked on something i can not procure in a timely manner, then i would rather not take a chance on an ASF'r, Mice and rats for my location are expensive and hard to get so i am stuck with mail order rodent pops. misconception or not, it is out there and is a concern for those who do not breed their own food stock for their animals, or have had the experience on a repetitive basis to attempt the ASF to Rat/Mouse switch. just my thoughts.

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From an availability standpoint, I completely understand the reluctance to get a snake that has ONLY fed on ASF. But to deny a sale simply because the snake has eaten an ASF at some point in its life, but has been proven to eat rats and mice as well, is very misguided in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Personally, I'm worried about snakes that have only eaten ASFs and nothing else. I live in a state where ASFs are illegal. So finding an ASF source just in case the snake doesn't take a rat our mouse is nearly impossible. I do know *one* source. But they price their underground ASFs at $25 a pop.
Hardly worth a feeder in my opinion...

So I'd rather just not take the chance and buy a strict rat/mouse feeder.

I would have less issues if ASFs were more abundant in my area ....

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Again, from an availability standpoint this is very reasonable. If buying ASFs frozen over the internet was a viable option would you be more willing to purchase a snake that had a history of eating ASF?

Why are ASF's illegal in some states?


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Originally Posted by martin82531

Why are ASF's illegal in some states?


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They're non-native and can "destroy agriculture" if let loose. *cough*
Same as gerbils, which is why they're also illegal.

It hasn't happened in any other state, so I don't see the issue. But Fish and Game are pretty strict about non-native species here....

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If buying ASFs frozen over the internet was a viable option would you be more willing to purchase a snake that had a history of eating ASF?

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I think I would be more willing to purchase a snake if there were frozen ASFs for a fair price.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

They're non-native and can "destroy agriculture" if let loose. *cough*
Same as gerbils, which is why they're also illegal.

It hasn't happened in any other state, so I don't see the issue. But Fish and Game are pretty strict about non-native species here....



I think I would be more willing to purchase a snake if there were frozen ASFs for a fair price.

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Maybe one day I will grant your wish :) I don't even know how to go about shipping frozen rodents, but I love ASFs and I would love to share the love :P