African Soft furred

Well, I went to an expo yesterday and came back with some frozen feeders and a trio of baby soft fur rats.....they are quite timid and nippy...I'll keep you updated...wish me luck :)

oh, and I only paid 20 bucks for these guys, the guy who sold them to me said he had sooo many at home, he figured he would bring some with him to the expo. I am glad he did.

oh i hope they warm up to you! I am getting some this weekend too, i'm quite excited.

You'll love em! if not as food as just interesting animals to observe. My first trio are very forward about using their mouths but the majority of the offspring seem to be better since they know our smells.

I have been kinda explaining to others that the insane prices of $75 - $100 per trio wouldn't last long. I can relate with the guy who said he has to many LOL I'm not there yet but making my way. Enjoy the benefits of those little guys...but be warned 3 can quickly turn into 40+ in a few months!

That is awesome. I kept watching them yesterday. My dog (dauchshund/poodle mix) was VERY interesed. I kept having to tell him to leave them alone because he was just nutty about it. The cat was watching them like it was his own personal tv, not really trying to get to them, just looking at them like they were amusing. I should get pics up, they are unlike rats OR mice if you really look. Their fur is very interesting too. I haven't touched them and the guy who sold them to me would not either, he moved them around with a pen to show them to me. I think their babies will be nicer because I plan to handle them a lot. They may be predisposed to be nippy but maybe we can breed that out of them.

And the freezer has plenty of room once this takes off..lol.

TEK, you are the one that actually made me aware of these guys, so thanks. I got them for the size they get and mainly for decreased smell. I kind of got them into my house incognito because my inlaws would not approve (they don't even know about the snake). Irresponsible? Yes. Am I having fun? you bet. :)

~Tiffany

Mine are all nippy, even the babies. They are high strung, and not easily handled. The fur is very soft to the touch.
They are entertaining, and I have.. a lot now. I'd love to get rid of them, maybe keeping only a pair or trio, but only for the aforementioned entertainment. The babies are REALLY high strung and hyper. I haven't noticed a hugh decrease in smell, but they do tend to use a corner of the pen for a bathroom. If you spot clean just that once a week, it is really pretty good.
They don't seem to drink nearly as much water either.
Anyone in Florida wanting some, cash or trade, I got some. Really.. I do.. you want them, you know you do...
Wolfy

Naughty!!!!


You'll like the babies for sure they are so soft and stay soft to adults! There is nothing like a handful of warm fuzzy af rat babies.

Wolfy maybe something weird in your blood line? None of mine are high strung, if anything when I check in on them they stop what they are doing and stand up to see what's going on. If I put my hand in with any of the babies (the main trio would bite for sure) they don't really do much. I grab anyone of them easily for inspection...or a date with one of the snakes. My mice on the other hand are more like your describing with ziping all over and freaking out when I am into their tub but it doesn't last long.

They do have a smell but its not bad at all in my setup and I have to put my face right in the tub to smell it. Could be feeding difference or air cirulation...who knows. I still clean the tubs weekly as I have been doing with the other rodents. I find that while they will use a certain corner more often than not there are still lots of little turds down in the bedding even when the surface looks clean.

My wife's Jack russel when in the room has her nose glued to closest tub she can reach and will watch whatever rodents are inside for hours on end. Its funny sometimes she gets very shaky and worried...I think its more instinct than fascination. She is a VERY good mouser when we need her to be!


*edited for spelling

aww. thats cute, i'm intrested to see how my dog reacts to the new rats...I really don't think that she will care much, for heaven's sake, the snakes crawl on here, and she could care less (dont worry i don't make a practice of doing that)

Heres a couple pics of mine

http://www.bluegrassreptiles.com/ima...ricanratRZ.jpg

And some babies
http://www.bluegrassreptiles.com/images/babyASF1RZ.jpg

Where do you guys get these rats from?

They are coming (have been) into the trade. I see them at shows, just keep your eyes open. I think they are spreading fast and propagating faster.

I would like to raise them just out of curiosity, but havn't found any locally.

The biting point is a major negative, as I have a ton of rats now and can count on two fingers how many times I've been bitten in 9 months.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

I would like to raise them just out of curiosity, but havn't found any locally.

The biting point is a major negative, as I have a ton of rats now and can count on two fingers how many times I've been bitten in 9 months.

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There pretty much at most shows now days and fairly reasonable as far as pricing goes.

Their bitters for sure but they can probably be tamed down a tad with regular handling if you really tried. Just wear some welding gloves:O

I wouldn't let the biting factor deter anyone...all animals will bite given the circumstances.

Like Larry said, you could handle them regularly. I don't handle my growing colony other than necessary and they are not biting me when I get into their tubs.

I heard the word bite and the word rat in the same sentence and I wince. Ive been bitten badly by a few rats, the second time through thick leather gloves :)

So when you say they are bitey, do you mean nippy? Or do they mean business?

I have only had mine about three days. They are very small yet and all they do is hide. I named them breakfast, LUnch and Dinner. I hope they will provide me with many side entrees. Lunch is my larger female and she is quite bold, exploring and eating already. I haven't picked them up yet since they are stressed but I did get to pet Breakfast, She is very soft and just sat there...Porbably scared out of her mind. They are cute, I don't think they look like regular rats at all...

Larry, you have a very cute rat there.

I got mine at a retile show. If there is a show near you, you should check it out. Shipping live animals is a pain or I would sell you some of my future babies.

Come get some of mine. Aren't the fuzzys the ugliest things ever? Remind me of a half-fledged bird.
Wolfy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolfsnaps

Larry, you have a very cute rat there.

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Thanx

Do you keep them in plastic tubs or glass tanks? I've heard that they are chewers too. What kind of feed do you use? Same stuff as for regular rats?

Mark

Hey Mark, I don't find them to be as bad as gerbils when it comes to chewing but they are bad no less. I keep all the groups of 1.2 in rat mommy bins b/c they would chew a home depot tub in no time. My mommy bins are all 1/4 hardwire cloth and they tend to be a bare by chewing the food through the cloth and not eating it so I think 1/8 would be a better choice. I've been using the same feed Mazuri lab blocks with success ie large litters and heathly babies with mommy recovering just fine.

hope this helps

Well, I am no expert. The guy who sold me mine said not to use hopper style feed bins for these guys (the wire ones that hang) because they will continuosly chew the food up and leave a heck of a mess and three inches of chewed food on the ground. SO I feed mine in a dish (I don't know why I even bother with the dish, they drag the food all over). I feed my trio a lab block and mix in wellness senior dog food, peanuts, birdseed, some rat treats. and fruits and vegetables. Basically, I give them what is around and available, the lab block being the staple.

I keep mine in a glass tank, but I only have one trio to deal with, not multiples. Glass tanks can be a pain when you have more than a couple.

It is intereresting to see these guys as pinks. They have fur....well, a few sparse hairs but they aren't naked. They do kind of look like half fledged birds...lol....I can't wait to see some in my tank.

I keep mine in sterilite tubs. They are taller with no edges they can get a hold of to chew on. I usually keep some sort of untreated wood or small block in the tubs and they will chew on that some but not alot. I have 1/4 hardware cloth for the top also as well as "hopper" of sorts I made from the same material that hangs into the tub. It works pretty well and holds both food and a water bottle...maybe someday gravity fed setup but not at this point. I've not observed the messiness with food you where told about. In my tubs they will eat a piece of block food through the mesh until its round enough to fit through and they scamper off with it to a corner and eat it...or it gets taken away by a naughty tub mate LOL.