ASF vs Gerbils? NEED HELP!!

Which is better to feed Ball pythons?
I know that once you feed them its very difficult to get the ball python to switch back, I just want to know the pros and cons of each,
Which grow the fastest? Which are the easiest to breed? Which don't smell as bad? Which are better for ball pythons? Which have the largest litters? How big do both get? Which one grows the largest?
Sorry for the questions, Ive been looking into them and just can't find a website that lists the pros and cons of each compared to one another,
Thank you,
Billy Nicholas

I don't know about ASF, but gerbils are rather difficult to breed. They are hard to introduce and you can only breed one female to one male. Females are dominant so you cannot put two females together with a male to breed or they will kill each other.
Gerbils smell very little. They get about twice the size of an average pet fancy mouse. They become full grown at about 6 months, but they are a fair size at 3 months.
Gerbil litters vary from 2 pups to about 9 pups.

Gerbils are nastier as feeders, they will fight rather than flight. Gerbils also do not get as big as ASF. ASF smell is very minimal I wouldn't actually know I have them :)
I have owned gerbils but never bred them.

May I ask why you're deciding between those?
I personally would choose between rats and ASF.


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ASF caresheet: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-ASF-Caresheet

ASFs: Smell less, get the size of very large mice/smaller rats, are healthier than gerbils/hamsters, litters are around 10ish, can be put in breeding colonies, grow kinda slow but when you have 10 in a litter, it pans out over time. I just started a 1.4 colony in mid November and plan on being feeder independent for 8 snakes by the end of January.


Gerbils/hamsters: Fatty and not a "healthy" choice for your snakes(can't find the thread that has the nutrition chart for each rodent), BPs are known to get "hooked" on them, everything else was said by Abyss and Monkee.

Gerbils aren't fat. They are quite lean. They shouldn't be confused with hamsters.

Of the two I would pick ASF's. If you ever need to re-home one of your ball pythons you don't want to list it as a gerbil-eater, that's worse than a mouser IMO. Almost no one breeds them as feeders so the pet shop would be your only source for live gerbil feeder, and those get sold as pets so they won't be cheap.

Why not rats? If I saw ASF eater on an ad or response email I'd keep looking. I don't want to breed two types of rodents until I get a house of my own, preferably only rats even then.

There may be a few gerbil breeders who might be okay with selling their gerbils as feeders. I think I recall there being a member of the AGS who allowed that... though I may be mistaken.

Rats man. Easy to breed, don't smell if you clean em, available for snakes hatchling up to adult boa, easier to find homes if you have an excess, easy to get snakes on, AND off them if need be, and they can even make great pets if you have a good genetic colony.

Put your hand in any one of my breeder bins and they will nibble, not bite, all can be handled, and all can be fed off or sold.

Way better IMO


I like my Dubstep to go Wop Wop Wop Wop

I didn't have difficulty breeding gerbils in family groups so long as they're raised together. Even after a month in the same bedding I'd be hard pressed to notice a scent different from the day after cleaning - probably has to do with their extremely low water intake/outtake. Gerbils are cute and cuddly even as adults - feeding them off was taxing my soul.

ASFs breed well in groups and are easier to introduce. After a week in the same bedding you will definitely notice a smell. Regularly cleaning their "toilet corner" helps but doesn't negate the scent - they drink a lot, they pee a lot. Can be cute but occasionally give you the devil's nip - my soul is sound even after feeding them off.

Both are slowish growers. ASFs have humongous litters, gerbils - not so much.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Of the two I would pick ASF's. If you ever need to re-home one of your ball pythons you don't want to list it as a gerbil-eater, that's worse than a mouser IMO. Almost no one breeds them as feeders so the pet shop would be your only source for live gerbil feeder, and those get sold as pets so they won't be cheap.

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It would be important to list or tell the potential buyer what that snake eats. Why would you even think of not disclosing that information? That's just plane bad business and bad ethics. Let a buyer know, what if they were buying the snake for their kid as a gift, the kid can't get the snake to ever eat and it dies. I would think it would make the kid think twice about getting another snake because (they are just to hard to keep alive) remember we are trying to help our reptile industry, and bad representation only hurts it no matter how small the cover up is.
Not implying you would cover it up just agreeing with you. I wouldn't want to have to post a gerbil-eater either.

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Originally Posted by Hardt

It would be important to list or tell the potential buyer what that snake eats. Why would you even think of not disclosing that information? That's just plane bad business and bad ethics. Let a buyer know, what if they were buying the snake for their kid as a gift, the kid can't get the snake to ever eat and it dies. I would think it would make the kid think twice about getting another snake because (they are just to hard to keep alive) remember we are trying to help our reptile industry, and bad representation only hurts it no matter how small the cover up is.
Not implying you would cover it up just agreeing with you. I wouldn't want to have to post a gerbil-eater either.

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I believe he meant he wouldn't feed gerbils due to the fact he wouldn't want to HAVE to list it as a gerbil eater. Not that he wouldn't disclose the info but that he wouldn't want to have to.
And yes I'd rather see mouser than gerbil eater

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

I believe he meant he wouldn't feed gerbils due to the fact he wouldn't want to HAVE to list it as a gerbil eater. Not that he wouldn't disclose the info but that he wouldn't want to have to.

And yes I'd rather see mouser than gerbil eater

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LOL yes that's exactly what SHE meant. I could have worded it better. If selling an ASF-only eater is hard, selling a gerbil-ony eater would be almost impossible.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

LOL yes that's exactly what SHE meant. I could have worded it better. If selling an ASF-only eater is hard, selling a gerbil-ony eater would be almost impossible.

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Omg I am so sorry!!

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Omg I am so sorry!!

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Haha don't be, it's no like my screen name gives any clues.

What is wrong with a snake being fed mice?

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Originally Posted by Awaiting Abyss

What is wrong with a snake being fed mice?

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It's a bigger hassle because you have to hope the snake wants to eat multiple mice each feeding so they can get up to weight as fast as they would with eating one appropriately sized rat.

There's nothing wrong with feeding mice, just an only mouse eater, a mouser, can be more hassle.

Oh, I see. So for larger snakes, you mean? Therefore, its no problem for a snake such as a hognose to eat mice.

Oh yes we're talking about balls here. My first female is a mouser, I've tried everything... rats, not even ASFs. She also eats when she wants to.... but I love her :)

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Originally Posted by Awaiting Abyss

Oh, I see. So for larger snakes, you mean? Therefore, its no problem for a snake such as a hognose to eat mice.

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It's a cost issue. One live large ASF or small rat per week to feed one of my ball pythons runs about $1.50 from my local rodent supplier since I don't breed my own. The equivalent meal of large mice would cost $5. The difference doesn't sounds like a lot until you multiply it by 52 weeks per year, plus you have to hope the ball python doesn't decide it's full after eating just one live mouse.

Right, I have a couple mousers. Sometimes they will only take one, then other times they look at me after a few and I swear they are thinking "really? That's all you got?"? Lol

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Oh yes we're talking about balls here. My first female is a mouser, I've tried everything... rats, not even ASFs. She also eats when she wants to.... but I love her :)

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Right. Sorry, I forgot that this thread was directed toward ball pythons. :)