ASF rats for the ball pythons entire life?

I have a local breeder of mice, ASF, and rats. They have all sizes and ages available and offer live or frozen. Can a BP live on ASF their entire life? From Pinks, Fuzzies, Hoppers, Smalls, Mediums, and Larges as their life cycle progresses or am I better off just using normal rats? The breeder suggested ASF but said a large ASF is about the size of a small rat. I'd rather stick to the same feeders for all my snakes so I don't want to switch to rats after they have had ASF from hatch to sub adult. And before some wise ass suggests a search :colbert:, I tried searching but the term ASF is just too short. I also browsed the ASF forum but it is entirely filled with breeding/rack/genetics type questions. Thanks in advance for all the knowledgeable and experienced responses I know I will receive ;)

Regards,

B

I read somewhere that adult ASFs are 60+ grams and that's supposedly plenty for an adult BP. I actually have several dozen adults, but I haven't been feeding them off yet so I haven't bothered weighing them. I'll check a few of them tomorrow if no one else chimes in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spitzu

I read somewhere that adult ASFs are 60+ grams and that's supposedly plenty for an adult BP. I actually have several dozen adults, but I haven't been feeding them off yet so I haven't bothered weighing them. I'll check a few of them tomorrow if no one else chimes in.

---

Thanks for the info! I appreciate the response. I figured I could always feed an extra if needed. I know many keepers have great luck with ASF and ball pythons. I stumbled into this breeder on accident. I just think it would be great to have local availability for feeders.

Regards,

B

Simple - I have zero firsthand knowledge about the subject but would be very interested in the results as well, as I've pondered that same question as well as far as what's best to feed 'em. That said, I read/heard somewhere that the fat content of gerbils and ASF's is a good deal higher than in "normal" rats and as such could negatively impact the snake's health. I'd really like to hear some informed/knowledgeable people chime in on this, as that's something I'd like to know too.

I'm blessed to have several asf only eaters :mad:
From experience I would not feed my snakes asf's just because I could, getting some snakes to take rats after they get "hooked" on asf's can be a no go, and selling a snake "hooked" on asf's is not easy either.

I'd have to be absolutely positive that my supplier of asf's would be there long term and have food available at all times or breed them myself, which I do.

In my experience asf eaters can gain as much weight as the average rat eater if you feed them smaller meals more often.

The feeders that I feed off usually weigh around 80g

I've fed ball's asf's from out of the egg to 2000 gram adults. Never had an issue. In the wild ASF's are the primary prey item of ball pythons. They seem to do just fine on them there too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by meeistom

I've fed ball's asf's from out of the egg to 2000 gram adults. Never had an issue. In the wild ASF's are the primary prey item of ball pythons. They seem to do just fine on them there too.

---

Right here. They are the food of choice for a ball in the wild. BUT, many keepers, hobbiest hate dealing with ASF. I have a few colonies set up for a few stubborn eaters and for the really GOOD DEALS on ASF eater only balls. IMO ASF and mousers reduce the price of the animal SUBSTANIALLY.

Sorry I'm new to the Ball Python world, what is a (ASF)?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AlbinoBall

Sorry I'm new to the Ball Python world, what is a (ASF)?

---

African Soft Furred Rats

As has already been said, ASFs are actually the primary prey item for wild ball python, and there's absolutely no reason why a ball couldn't be perfect on ASFs for their entire life. The only drawbacks are that they tend to get hooked on them, so if for whatever reason you can't get ASFs anymore then you'll have a Hell of a time getting them back onto rats. That's why most keepers prefer only giving ASFs to problem feeders who only take ASFs.

If you are aware of that and still want to, then there's no reason why not to put them on ASFs.

Thanks very much for the information, guys! You all raised some points that hadn't even occurred to me as far as the selling of an animal and the availability of ASF's for the life of the snake. Thanks again!

Yeah that's a really good point. Our ASF colony will be strictly for our breeders and pets. Hatchlings that we will be selling will be fed only mice/rats.

I only use them now for my three females that will only take them instead of rats as far as switchinng them its easy wait,they will get hungry enough to eat could take a year:D

I appreciate the responses. Everyone brought up some really good points. I think I will stick to rats and mice since all my snakes will arrive feeding on them. I will hope to get switched over to rats for them all eventually :)

Regards,

B