ASF biting your snake?

I've got a 1.2 colony of ASF's, and haven't gotten babies yet to feed to any of my BP's. All three of the ASF's are nippy, with one female being down right evil. She bites anything that comes in the enclosure.

My concern is that when I do start producing pups and get them up to size to feed off, will they bite/attack one of my BP's the way they attack me?:confused:

Has anyone had any bad experiences with this, or am I worrying too much?

I find that ASFs are tough until they get put in an enclosure. They just kinda sit there in the corner until they get snatched up, and then they dont even kick like rats do. Thats just my experience though.

Same here usually. They are usually pretty timid once put in for feeding. I always keep a good eye and keep a really small snake hook handy in case to separate them if needed.

Thanks guys.... This makes me feel better.

Mind you some ASF's are just mean lil buggers and they will try to chomp on anything;)
They are your bp's natural food source and in the wild they don't have anyone there to keep an eye out. Just don't leave them unattended and they should be fine.

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Originally Posted by waltah!

Just don't leave them unattended and they should be fine.

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I can assure you that won't happen :gj:

they wont have a chance to bite!:D

i have yet to see an asf fight back once it gets struck.

I've noticed most of the time when my snakes grab an ASF they squeeze it tight enough that its tongue swells and it can't close it's mouth. Although i've had a few instances where the snake grabbed butt first and got tagged a few times, they've never done any damage... snake scares are pretty tough.

I've been feeding ASFs for about a year and a half and have never had an incident. I also have found that they seem to fight back much less than regular rats. But of course, feedings should be supervised just in case.

I trust ASF's with my snakes far more than a rat or mouse. All the rats and mice I've ever fed, never seemed intimidated by the snakes. I've also opened up my tubs to find a mouse or rat curled up sleeping with a snake on numerous occasions. :mad:

ASF's on the other hand seem to know what the snakes are and they keep their distance. I've never had an issue with an ASF with a snake as of yet.

I dont know how they do this, but this is true for mine too, When I put an ASF in a BP enclosure, they ASF runs to the oposite corner and litteraly craps and pees its pants. If I leave the tub open, they start jumping around. I've had ASFs get struck'ed by BP in the neighboring tubs on feeding day!

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Originally Posted by panthercz

I trust ASF's with my snakes far more than a rat or mouse. All the rats and mice I've ever fed, never seemed intimidated by the snakes. I've also opened up my tubs to find a mouse or rat curled up sleeping with a snake on numerous occasions. :mad:

ASF's on the other hand seem to know what the snakes are and they keep their distance. I've never had an issue with an ASF with a snake as of yet.

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Soft furred to me are rat's in a mouse body.. don't believe me let one hit the floor and see if you can catch it.. LOL

I've never had an issue with ASF's in the last year or so I've used them..I only have 5 snakes that wont touch anything else. I started all my babys this year on hopper ASF's two meals then right to rats..EVERY ONE of then took the ASF first try and took their rat first try..Easiest time I've had getting babys started ever..

For those of my snakes that only eat live I have noticed the ASF's are WIMPS!

They dont do anything but sit there looking paranoid. I always watch and put the tip of the tongs in its mouth after the snakes grabs it if its a bad grab and the rats mouth is too close to the snakes body. Otherwise i have not had a problem. As long as they have not been dropped into the enclosure and are not "jumpy" when you place it in there, it probably wont move at all.

I have only had 1 so far that actually jumped away from the snake.

Norway rats and mice move everywhere and bite anything they come across. For some reason the ASF's seem scared frozen when they see the snake move.

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Originally Posted by Danounet

I dont know how they do this, but this is true for mine too, When I put an ASF in a BP enclosure, they ASF runs to the oposite corner and litteraly craps and pees its pants. If I leave the tub open, they start jumping around. I've had ASFs get struck'ed by BP in the neighboring tubs on feeding day!

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I've seen them do the exact same thing. Just cowering and crapping up in a random corner of the snake's cage.


I've been feeding them for over 6 months and haven't had a single issue with them, and with my snakes that get rats I have to watch and check in a lot more, even when the snake strikes the rat immediately I always make sure they can't do any damage while kicking and make sure their mouth isn't in range for biting (had an issue with this last night and had to use my tweezers to make sure the rat didn't bite my snake.

hey guys. im just going to come right out and ask it since idk what you're talking about. whats an asf

ASF = African Soft Furred Rat

YouTube - ASF rat learning basketball

Ok,

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

ASF = African Soft Furred Rat

YouTube - ASF rat learning basketball

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That's just freaking adorable. :D


dr del

I love the videos after this one plays too. The pair of rats playing basketball jumping through the baskets is awesome.

When i feed my snakes an ASF i just dangle it by the tail and present the back of its head to the snake. When the snake coils the teeth of the rat are always in an area where there is nothing to bite. If one ever gets ahold of part of my snake i have a plastic spoon ready to pry its teeth apart.

I don't think I'd be able to feed one to a snake, it's too cute.:rolleyes:

Yeah they are cute and they have the coolest personalities compared to mice and norway rats.. But. BPs are known to be picky eaters. Would you rather have a snake that will only take food from you once a month or one that will eat every week and stay fat and healthy?

ASF's are fun to watch but usually do not make very good pets. Mine are pretty calm and can be scooped up and held without getting bitten but the littlest thing can scare them and they will sail up out of your hand and be gone. They are FAST!

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Originally Posted by Imabur.

I don't think I'd be able to feed one to a snake, it's too cute.:rolleyes:

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... until the first one bites you. lol

Rick

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

ASF = African Soft Furred Rat

YouTube - ASF rat learning basketball

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this is great!

Oh man thats awesome, When I move to a house one day and have lots of space, Im gonna keep an ASF pet just like that lol!

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

... until the first one bites you. lol

Rick

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Ya, lol, I didn't want to feed the little mousey to my snake at first and then it bit my hand so I threw it in and let Pete kill him. Might be a sign of anger issues lol.

Heh, what you call an "anger issue" I call "selectively bred rodents", biters never reproduce, thus only the tamest genes carry on. ;)

Rick

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

Heh, what you call an "anger issue" I call "selectively bred rodents", biters never reproduce, thus only the tamest genes carry on. ;)

Rick

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:rofl::rofl::rofl: