ASF's nothing like advertised

So after having my ASF's for a few weeks I felt like posting some thoughts on them as there seems to be some contradictory information out there. I had heard nothing but evil things about these little guys and it wasn't from just a few sources. It seemed like everywhere I read they were the spawn of the devil and they would chew everything and anything and be out for blood. Well I must of been lucky enough to get breeding groups that were on some serious happy pills. I can pick up any of them and pet them. To anyone out there thinking about getting a breeding group go right ahead. I'm sure there are nippy groups but just find a good breeder to buy from. They are very meticulous little rodents and have far less of an odor then mice and I'd say just about equal to or slightly better than norway's. I wish I had picked these little guys up sooner.

As for feeding them off to my snakes I was shocked at how timid they were in the tub with the snakes. It's like they went into frozen still mode and just seemed to accept their fate. I had 3 of my stubborn mousers switch right over to ASF's thankfully and hopefully that keeps up.

Mine aren't biters either but they do a pretty darn good impersonation of popcorn. I can't hold them except by the tail or they'll use my hand as a launch pad and when I feed live they bounce around the tub like a pinball.

Something I've said for quite a while now...maybe we're just lucky. I've been breeding them for close to a year now and litter after litter they grow into completely handleable animals. A little skittish, sometimes jumpy, a bit nervous, sure...but I've been bitten many times(zero) less by ASF's if the past year than I have mice, and a couple times less than rats.

Have any of yours had babies yet ?

Most of my experience with them in my own colony teaches me they are rather docile if timid. Until they have babies. At which point the majority of the females become related to piranhas.

Not every one does it. And they don't always draw blood. One of my big girls got me last night for messing with her babies. She bit me, do not mistake that, but it was a warning bite. She didn't even leave a red spot. She just wanted me to leave her babies alone.

However, I have females who will happily amputate a finger in defense of their offspring if I let them.

Gale

Funniest thing was when I got my first group from Ed (Freakie Frog). He was in the middle of saying "I don't know why these guys have such a bad rap,...... OWWWW! He just bit me!"

I about had an accident from laughing so hard. First time one bit him was when he was picking one up to demonstrate how docile his line was.

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Popcorn is exactly what I call our just weaned babies! No other way to describe. They are crazy little poppers. We have one or two females that will take treats from your hands. However, I find the worst to be the Dad when there are babies in the house. He sits on top of it, and you don't dare go near or he will draw blood. As far as smell goes, way better than rats or mice. They have a "potty" corner and you can spot clean much easier to reduce smell.

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My first colony had their litter and the mamas are fine with me going in and touching babies.

Mama will nibble on my finger but not hard at all

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

Popcorn is exactly what I call our just weaned babies! No other way to describe. They are crazy little poppers. We have one or two females that will take treats from your hands. However, I find the worst to be the Dad when there are babies in the house. He sits on top of it, and you don't dare go near or he will draw blood. As far as smell goes, way better than rats or mice. They have a "potty" corner and you can spot clean much easier to reduce smell.

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I always keep the cat in the room when feeding ASF hoppers. They'll pop right out of the tub and I just have to go "Get it Lexi, get it Lexi, get it Lexi" and she'll catch it for me. I'd be toast without her!

That's awesome Robin, does she hurt them? Or just return them to mamma?

Gale

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I always keep the cat in the room when feeding ASF hoppers. They'll pop right out of the tub and I just have to go "Get it Lexi, get it Lexi, get it Lexi" and she'll catch it for me. I'd be toast without her!

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That's a great idea! We have torn a whole room apart looking for one that "popped" out.

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I haven't been bitten by any yet. One is really chill, I can just pick it up and pet it. The rest are nervous and bounce like ping pong balls but haven't tried to bite and are chilling out over time.

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All of mine are really cool! But I love the popcorn reference! Hahah...I trained my minature dashchund to trap loose feeders for me. He doesnt hurt them, just traps them with his front paws!! But I love having ASFs around. And the little newborns are so darn cute

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Originally Posted by angllady2

That's awesome Robin, does she hurt them? Or just return them to mamma?

Gale

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Oh, she'd kill them if given the chance. She pounces on the hopper, I pounce on her! LOL

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Originally Posted by HerpIsAhobby

So after having my ASF's for a few weeks I felt like posting some thoughts on them as there seems to be some contradictory information out there. I had heard nothing but evil things about these little guys and it wasn't from just a few sources. It seemed like everywhere I read they were the spawn of the devil and they would chew everything and anything and be out for blood. Well I must of been lucky enough to get breeding groups that were on some serious happy pills. I can pick up any of them and pet them. To anyone out there thinking about getting a breeding group go right ahead. I'm sure there are nippy groups but just find a good breeder to buy from. They are very meticulous little rodents and have far less of an odor then mice and I'd say just about equal to or slightly better than norway's. I wish I had picked these little guys up sooner.

As for feeding them off to my snakes I was shocked at how timid they were in the tub with the snakes. It's like they went into frozen still mode and just seemed to accept their fate. I had 3 of my stubborn mousers switch right over to ASF's thankfully and hopefully that keeps up.

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The reason for this, is the guys that have bred for more then 4 years.
they have bred most of the aggression out of them.:gj:
This is my 5th year breeding them, they get more pet like every generation.
They will be sold for pets soon enough.:D

I'm breeding mine for both feeders and temperment. My original male is pet tame even with babies, but one of the females will charge across the cage to bite me (can't wait for one of my snakes to get big enough to eat her!). I'm on the second generation now and the male is super tame, and the females will only nip if you mess with them too much. They haven't had any babies yet but I don't think they'll get too aggressive. I feed off the babies when/if they bite me, and I keep the ones that are friendly. I hope to be able to sell them as pets some day, as they are much easier to care for than mice

The first batch I got and had for over 3 years are very tame. Only got a couple curious nibbles. Usually would scooop up the mamas and they would just sit in my hand while I put them in the other bin for cleaning. I figured I needed to mix in some new blood so I bought a few from someone else a few months ago and there were a few in that batch that were mean as sin and would charge and bite me. They got eaten....

I think the trick is selective breeding - just pick out the mean ones and feed them off.

Yeah, as soon as one of mine bites it gets eaten. My first generation just had babies, and hopefully they will be even more friendly than their parents

My males are much nicer than my females and will let me pick up babies from underneath them

Just thought I'd update this a bit seeing as I have more experience now with multiple groups of babies in the tubs. These little guys are awesome parents from what I've seen so far. On top of that I can pick up the babies without so much as a look from a nursing mom. I expected the little devils to try and bite my finger off. I am going to continue to breed these guys for temperament and hopefully be able to keep this sweet line of ASF'S going. I know that the great majority of the babies will become food but my breeder adults are my pets and get treated so until death.