holy rat bites bat man.

So I went into one of my asf tank's to check the litter and do some spot cleaning. The two moms had litter's about a 1-1/2 weeks ago. I have never had any problems with biting before now but wow put my hand in and was bit three times before I knew what happened. So I am trying to secure the lid but its slippery from all of my blood. Was just curious if these little bogger's are gonna always be this aggressive when babies are around or should I try to breed for more docice ones? Maybe its just the nature of the beast.

Momma rats are P.I.T.A's you could have the tamest rats ever and the second shes pregers its satans spawn...lol

Mamma's protect their children. It's their job. You gotta be quick. Sorry about your bites. Been there, done that, got the tshirt. Nasty little she devils.

I got my first rat bite today lol, I picked of one of her babies and she gave me a hard nip...

I bled more than I thought I would.... rat bites are definately worse than snake bites :oops:

Screw those guys. I don't breed those devils anymore.

They're always like that. I tried to breed them to be docile. I handled them a lot. As soon as they have babies, they'll chew your hand off if you let them.

UGH ASFs!!!!!

I've been breeding rats and mice for over 3 years now, and ASF's for 6-7 months and have yet to be bitten by a nursing mother. Of course, I never pick them up straight off their litter, but I've handled numerous nursing mothers without issue.

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

I've been breeding rats and mice for over 3 years now, and ASF's for 6-7 months and have yet to be bitten by a nursing mother. Of course, I never pick them up straight off their litter, but I've handled numerous nursing mothers without issue.

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funny thing was I wasn't even handling them it was like chumming the water for sharks.

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Originally Posted by ReptilesK2

I got my first rat bite today lol, I picked of one of her babies and she gave me a hard nip...

I bled more than I thought I would.... rat bites are definately worse than snake bites :oops:

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No crap. I was shocked how bad the bites were hurt and bleed way worse than a snake bite.

I think you should trade out for new ASFs. I regularly handle my litters and mothers with no problems. :)

I have been breeding ASFs for 6 months or so and I haven't had one bite me yet. I started breeding rats a couple months ago too and I have one female who is VERY protective and has gotten me a few times. I thought about feeding her off but she has been throwing litters of 15 and the babies aren't aggressive, so I dunno...

I have no experience with breeding but i have definetly heard of people breeding for docility... If they fine an aggressive mom or dad they feed it off and replace it.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

If they fine an aggressive mom or dad they feed it off and replace it.

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Yes, any biters are very strong candidates for the freezer...

I breed Mice, Rats, and ASF's.

I've had ASFs from two different sources and I've got to say one set was a much meaner bunch.

I just learned to approach em careful. Spend a lot of time poking around opening and closing the cage, touching them when they don't have babies. It's all about acclimating them to the kind of handling needed to accomplish daily tasks and also learning what a ASF in a bad mood looks like.

That being said there were a few I gave up as lost causes and they ended up in my freezer.

I also found that the second generation was easier to handle since they grew up with me and were used to my cleaning routines and how I handle rodents. Once I had second gen that were breeding age all the ones I got from the meaner batch got phased out.
It's part nature but it's nurture too. :)

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Originally Posted by RobNJ

Yes, any biters are very strong candidates for the freezer...

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lol nice

Never had an ASF bite my hand and I handle them a lot. Although they do bite the heck out of the gloves I wear. ;)

I just don't see the point of dealing with aggressive stock. :confuzd:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

I just don't see the point of dealing with aggressive stock. :confuzd:

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Well some if us just don't have a choice. We need ASF's and there isn't someone like you in our area who breeds for temperment.
Those of us who can't get a hold of friendly stock have to take the risk with aggressive animals and hope they mellow out with time.

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

I just don't see the point of dealing with aggressive stock. :confuzd:

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Just with any other type of feeder animal. Mice, ASFS or rats, get rid of aggressive stock. It is an inherited trait.:snake:

Well someone needs to step up to the plate then! :P
It costs around $200 to ship a box of rodents across the country. (less on a good day)

The first asfs I ever had were nasty nasty nasty. Most of my new ones are not but the ones I got from the pet store are nasty.

My first and very worst bite so far was from an albino rat from petco. It did a lot of damage and took forever to heal, and 4 years later I still have a scar.

I was actually in the hospital about a week and 1/2 ago. They actually had the infectious disease dr in because of me handling mice and rats all the time.
She came in and asked, "so you get bit pretty often from your rodents right"... I was like... "uh, it's actually VERY RARE that I'm bitten by any of my rodents. Maybe once a year?". She didn't believe me!

LOL

I hate to say it, but doctors are stupid sometimes. If you're going to specialize in infectious diseases you should probably know at least a thing or two about the carrier animals you're talking about. . .