ASFs GONE!!

So I have 3 colonies of 1.3 ASFs going right now and I had about 8 males in a grow out glass cage with a screen top...I have fed off 5 of the 8 to my snake and had 3 left....last night I gave them food and fresh water and secured their cage! Now this morning I noticed the water bottle was tipped over so I went to adjust it, I figured I would lift their hide to check on them...AND...they are nowhere to be found, with out any way to escape! The screen lid was secure tight and there are no holes in the screen anywhwere....Anyone have an idea of how these lil buggers would have gotten out and where to start looking for them in my garage?:confused:

Thanks!

Anyone? I have looked in all hot spots where they could be hiding....the dryer, washer, freezer and cannot find them! But hopefully they turn up by the washer somehwere looking for water!

Your best bet is to set out traps. You can try live traps, but if they have been out to long I wouldn't feed them to my snakes for fear that they might have eaten something toxic.

Are you sure they are not burrowed down in the bedding??

Sounds like they lifted the top, and got the heck out of dodge to me!

Live traps are basically your only option.

Just think about how lucky you are that only males escaped. If there were females also you would have had to move. :P

Set out as many traps as you can. Block any ways out of the garage.

Good luck.

holy! Lol I heard ASF's are masters of escape but that's crazy! Anyway they could have been stolen? LOL

So there isn't any available escapes in my garage...but the lid slides in and out from the front! I checked the entire cage...also I will set out traps and I am glad as well no females escaped :cool:

Now I had a male get out and my wife found him in the washer right before she started laundry...hopefully they end up there again...lol

Thanks for the tips guys:beer:

Johnny using TapaTalk

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Originally Posted by decensored

holy! Lol I heard ASF's are masters of escape but that's crazy! Anyway they could have been stolen? LOL

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That was my first thought...but my wife was in and out of the garage...we breed Great Danes and our female was giving birth to her puppies! So that ruled out that thought...I am really stumped on how in the hell they got out!!! :screwy:




Johnny using TapaTalk

Live traps, If you catch them Cull them. They will already be wild after a day and would of ingested anything to eat and usually die if kept in cage again.

That's what I planned on doing...I hope I cath them before they just die off! I really hate the dead animal smell...:beer:

Johnny using TapaTalk

Wouldn't surprise me if the little demons learned to teleport.

You can set out a pitcher that's 1/3 full of water. When they try to drink, they fall in and ratty-paddle around until you find them. Generally they won't drown, they can swim for hours from what I've seen.

That's the only way I caught a loose ASF in my snake room. Good luck.

Should I place the pitcher on the floor or on a shelf?:cool:

Johnny using TapaTalk

Mine was up on a snake rack(waist high) but I doubt it matters too much. Just check it often so if he falls in, you find him quickly.

If you are going to cull them anyway, then why do live traps? For escapees, I use these:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pub...JCqU_ChybkQRyY

Very quick death - Probably, quicker than feeding to a snake.

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Originally Posted by Don

If you are going to cull them anyway, then why do live traps? For escapees, I use these:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pub...JCqU_ChybkQRyY

Very quick death - Probably, quicker than feeding to a snake.

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They sell a similar one at Tractor Supply.

I could not sleep knowing those buggers were loose. I would start moving everything in the garage until I found them.

I'm not sure how ASF's react to being out but regular rats that have escaped have stayed within a few feet of the rack. I would have thought that they would make a break for it but I always find them close by.

I always cull any rat that gets a taste of freedom. I don't want him poisoning the minds of the regular population with his talks of being on the outside. :rolleyes:

At least they didn't get loose in your house.

ASF's love enclosed areas, get a small box, put a glue trap in it, close it up. Cut a small hole on the side for entry, and spread a dab of peanut butter on the hole and the and a bunch in the middle of the glue trap...
Place the box close to the ASF cages. For some reason they always go back to the ASF colony.
I've caught dozens of them this way.

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Originally Posted by jasbus

ASF's love enclosed areas, get a small box, put a glue trap in it, close it up. Cut a small hole on the side for entry, and spread a dab of peanut butter on the hole and the and a bunch in the middle of the glue trap...
Place the box close to the ASF cages. For some reason they always go back to the ASF colony.
I've caught dozens of them this way.

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Glue traps are horribly inhumane. I would never recommend using them.

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

Glue traps are horribly inhumane. I would never recommend using them.

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But they don't miss like snap traps occasionally do. In my opinion, it's better than the stupid asf chewing wiring and burning your house down. ASFs are tricky little buggers, and don't always get snapped in trex traps.

We keep live traps baited with rodent block and peanut butter. These things are cool they have a little ramp that the rodent walks up and their weight pushes the ramp down giving them access to the area where the bait is, they have to step off of the ramp to get to the bait and when they do it goes back up blocking off the way out! No harm whatsoever to the rodent and you can return them to their tub or feed them. No harm and no wasted feeder!

Call your local exterminator and ask for them I got them from my best friend who works for a local exterminator.

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Originally Posted by Amon Ra Reptiles

We keep live traps baited with rodent block and peanut butter. These things are cool they have a little ramp that the rodent walks up and their weight pushes the ramp down giving them access to the area where the bait is, they have to step off of the ramp to get to the bait and when they do it goes back up blocking off the way out! No harm whatsoever to the rodent and you can return them to their tub or feed them. No harm and no wasted feeder!

Call your local exterminator and ask for them I got them from my best friend who works for a local exterminator.

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Well if I catch these lil Houdinies (LOL)...I thought it wouldnt be safe to feed them or place them back in their cage?

Its NOT safe to keep them and feed them. Your risking a lot over a rodent to save a meal.


Cull them and start over, rodents become wild in about 24hours and will eat anything. Why catch it, and then feed it to your snakes. Asking for trouble and IMO deserve what comes out of it

What if I cant catch them?

most rodents that were captive will die in wild eventually as they cant survive well. And just follow the smell

Thats what I am trying to avoide....I hate the dead animal smell!

I went out to the garage to check my rat racks and saw the lil bastards jump off my rat rack to the top of a rolled up rug and ran inside of it! I moved the rug and they all ran to the other side of my garage where my storge shelves are all at!!

I will catch them..I have faith in myself now (sense I seen them!) I will be getting traps in the morning!!:D

Victor snap traps baited with peanut butter. It catches them literally 100% of the time. Search for Victor rat trap on this forum and you will find a thread I wrote about them with pictures of the specific one to get.

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Originally Posted by Amon Ra Reptiles

No harm whatsoever to the rodent and you can return them to their tub or feed them. No harm and no wasted feeder!

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I don't recomend this practice at all.... Regardless of how you catch the rodent (kill trap, live trap, whatever) you really shouldn't feed it to your snakes. You should simply cull and throw it out.

Even when a rodent is loose for a few hours it will get into bad things. It can eat insects that are already dying from insect poison (assuming you, or a neighbor may use insect control in the house). Or it can eat insects that have other diseases or parrasites. ASF's especially will instantly attack, kill, and eat any insect it comes in contact with.

You also have to consider all the parasites and other wild animals it may come in contact with... What if you had a wild rat or mouse in the garage at some point? A hungry ASF will readilly eat anything it can find... It won't hesitate to eat the fecies of another animal... even of a rat who was in the middle of dying from eating house rat poison.

I am sure you can feed an escapee that you caught and not have any problems result from it. But really, is it worth the risk? I have snakes that are worth $5,000+. I also have baby male normals worth about $20. Both are far too valuable to me to risk feeding a rodent that has been on the loose for even just a few hours.

By the way, I don't just throw them out either... Once they are killed I throw them in the woods behind my house... I let nature take care of them from there so they don't just go to waste.

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Originally Posted by Johnny84

What if I cant catch them?

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You should be able to get all of them. I once had over 50 loose at once when I had a chew out in one of my grow out tubs. I got every single one of them. (at the time I kept exact count of how many rats were in each tub)

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

At least they didn't get loose in your house.

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at the rate they chew, they can make their own door to come in:O

Well one ASF is caught...my wife went to do laundry and the lil bastard was in the washer making a nest, it ran up an out through the space and down into the guts of the machine...ALMOST CAUGHT! LOL :D

Then my wife put a load in the wash and went out to throw the load into the dryer and found the dead thing in with the clothes at the bottom....so its dead and discarded! Still waiting to catch the other 2!:gj:

Ok...so I put some traps out and have not caught the other 2 ASFs yet. I know they are still in the garage because we have found 3 nests with rodent lab block all over the place! So what have you guys used on the traps to catch these lil buggers?:D

Ive used peanut butter so far and havent been successful!:confused:

Get a cat :gj:

I hate cats!! :sabduel:

If they have such easy access to the lab block, they may not be tempted by bait, even something as yummy as peanut butter. I'd try to do some major clean-up and see if you can't make food REALLY scarce for them. The peanut butter would start smelling a lot more enticing then.

We caught one in the trap over the night! Sooooo, one more to go.....wait he's caught too:D

My wife found him in our washer....she tricked him with a Cheeto, he grabbed it and she made him fall into the washer. And now hes in a bigger glass cage waiting for me to get home to cull him...or should I keep him and feed him?:dance:

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Originally Posted by Johnny84

We caught one in the trap over the night! Sooooo, one more to go.....wait he's caught too:D

My wife found him in our washer....she tricked him with a Cheeto, he grabbed it and she made him fall into the washer. And now hes in a bigger glass cage waiting for me to get home to cull him...or should I keep him and feed him?:dance:

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Aahhhhh....the ol' Cheeto In The Washer trick! Classic! :D

I would NOT keep him. Cull him and toss him, unfortunately. You have no way of knowing what he might have ingested and the tiny cost of one tossed rat is not worth the risk of your animals getting sick.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Aahhhhh....the ol' Cheeto In The Washer trick! Classic! :D .

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Love it!

But I plan on culling him when I get home! Your right don't want to risk losing my snake over saving a few bucks! :D


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