African Soft Fur Rats

Hello,
Does anyone know of a website where I can purchase a male and few females for breeding?

Thanks,

Jeremiah

Try http://asfrats.info/

Hey I went to that website, and saw your post. I replied to you. There's a place in hoosick falls that ive seen had them, at that time i only saw 2 males (brothers) but they might have more by now or can possibly order you some females, just dont tell them you want them as breeders for snakes. lol I also sent you the number via your email. the little store is easy to find, but if you need directions, send me an IM. I live like 15 mins from that pet store. Hope it helps ya

~Maizie

why can't he say they are for feeders??? People don't keep those little devils as pet's!!!!!

Mine dont seem all that agressive... They jump away if you pick them up w/o holding the tail but if you just reach in to pet them they are cool with it. Dwarf hamsters are more agressive IMO and alot of people keep them as pets. My GF hates my rats but thinks the ASF's are cute...

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Originally Posted by Corrupter

Mine dont seem all that agressive... They jump away if you pick them up w/o holding the tail but if you just reach in to pet them they are cool with it. Dwarf hamsters are more agressive IMO and alot of people keep them as pets. My GF hates my rats but thinks the ASF's are cute...

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Why does she hate your rats? I feel bad feeding my rats to snakes since they're smart, friendly animals, but I have no problem feeding off ASFRs. You can pet them if you're careful, but they will make you bleed if given a chance.

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Originally Posted by mcavana

why can't he say they are for feeders??? People don't keep those little devils as pet's!!!!!

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because the woman there said she will NOT sell them as feeders, i dont know if she would sell them knowing they were going to be used as breeders but i wouldnt chance it. the woman who owns the shop has a daughter who breeds fancy mice/rats and asf, and they will not sell fancy anything as feeders. they include the soft furred rats in that category.

and when i went in there last time, they had 2 males, they will only sell the 2 males (brothers) together because she doesn't want to separate "brothers". :rolleyes:

I got my fancy girl mice there, they throw beautiful babies, but i didnt tell them I was going to use them as breeders, which at that time i didn't intend on it. besides what I do with them is my business, not theirs. lol

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Originally Posted by Corrupter

Mine dont seem all that agressive... They jump away if you pick them up w/o holding the tail but if you just reach in to pet them they are cool with it. Dwarf hamsters are more agressive IMO and alot of people keep them as pets. My GF hates my rats but thinks the ASF's are cute...

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How old are they? once a male gets older... and once the females have babies... you can not "pet" them period.

For me they were very tame at first. I thought a lot of people were exagerating with how vicious they were. Then the babies came. If you stick your had ANYWHERE in the tank, the male will charge from clear across the tank to take a giant chuck out of your hand. The females are just as vicious, they just don't charge at you... they look nice and curious till you are within reach, then WHAM!

They will ALL DIE!!!! :)

We have gotten lucky and had mice, ASF's, and Rats give birth recently. The pet stores around here had a sale recently on ASF rats and they seem to always have them, but our opinion is.

Mice are a pain as they really don't like other mice in the cage when they pop and are nursing.

ASF does not seem too bad, but the babies are like as small as mice babies. Granted we got a female from the pet store with intentions of feeding it to a snake that was off food, and the snake still didn't take it. So we kept it and it dropped a litter of pups a couple days ago.

Rats lay the larger litters. "Most" ball pythons "can" handle a rat pup and very few ball pythons will ever get large enough to handle more than a medium to large rat. One of proper size and you are done. Rats are also social creatures so you can leave birthing moms together and swap in and out other females with little to no issues. Rats can also be held easily.

It is all about what works for you...

I would NEVER get rats again. THEY STINK, consume large amounts of food and water, and get WAY to big. IMHO before they are even close to breeding age, they have grown to big for ball pythons.... (sure a large ball can eat a med - large rat, but only if you want to have no idea when it will eat again!) So, you get stuck with lots of big x breeders that your snake shouldn't eat.


ASF's are SO much easier! They don't stink, and they consume little food and water. and even an ex breeder (mine are about the size of a small rat but fatter) is perfect size for a larger ball. set up 1.2 or 1.3 tanks / tubs and you are good to go! You never take the males out, or seperate the females.... All you do is remove the babies when weaned, and put multiple litters together in a grow up tank / tub. MUCH EASIER then having to seperate males at the right time, and having somewhere to put them!

BUT they are little devil dogs that will eat a piece of your hand if you let them.

LOL, I don't think my rats stink! :P

just a quick question, are the soft furred rats more aggressive than normal rats when it comes to feeding them off? i plan on switching back to rats and have been thinkin about trying the soft furred ones, i LOVE the idea of no smells!!!!

I just got mine about a month ago, so I haven't had any to feed off yet. But I just wanted to say that I am amazed at how little these things eat, and how little they smell. I have cleaned out my bins once since I got them, and even the stuff I threw away had NO smell to it. I mean NONE.

I can't stand rats and mice. They smell horrible and I think rats smell worse than mice. I know lots of people say mice smell worse but to me rats smell much worse than mice. Mice have that distinct urine smell but rats have that burnt ham covered in feces smell that just turns my stomach.

I can't wait till my ASF's start dropping babies! Virtually no odor and I don't care how mean they are because they aren't pets. Plus I don't think mice and rats are much better temperament wise (unless you're willing to work them and tame them down). Nor do I find mice or rats cute in anyway.
To me ASF's are at least cute looking. They look like a cross between a mouse, sugar glider and opossum.

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Originally Posted by filly77

just a quick question, are the soft furred rats more aggressive than normal rats when it comes to feeding them off? i plan on switching back to rats and have been thinkin about trying the soft furred ones, i LOVE the idea of no smells!!!!

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Yes they are more aggressive... you should definately feed prekilled if at all possible... But there are plenty that do feed live with no more issue then feeding live rats and mice.

Keep in mind, these are a NATURAL food for ball pythons in the wild.... The python will handle his business.... just follow the normal safety procedures for feeding live.

This is just my opinion, but I would NOT just drop them in the tank. Especially the males. When threatened they do not run and hide like mice and rats... they are the agressor. When threatened, they will charge and attack whatever is threatening it (and that could be your snake who is still sleeping!!!)

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Originally Posted by mcavana

Yes they are more aggressive... you should definitely feed prekilled if at all possible... But there are plenty that do feed live with no more issue then feeding live rats and mice.

Keep in mind, these are a NATURAL food for ball pythons in the wild.... The python will handle his business.... just follow the normal safety procedures for feeding live.

This is just my opinion, but I would NOT just drop them in the tank. Especially the males. When threatened they do not run and hide like mice and rats... they are the aggressor. When threatened, they will charge and attack whatever is threatening it (and that could be your snake who is still sleeping!!!)

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I feed live ASFRs to my snakes, and haven't had any issues. As you say, they can't be left with the snake because they are very aggressive. If a snake doesn't grab the ASFR quickly, I take it back out and move on to the next snake. I also lower them in and close the tub as I let go of the tail, rather than dropping them like a rat or mouse. ASFRs will jump back out of the bin as soon as they hit the ground. It's pretty impressive.

Rats really don't have much of an odor if you use the correct bedding. As far as the large ones go when they are past breeding age I figure enough people have re tics and larger constrictors that have to alway hunt down rabbits or small pigs that you could sell them off for that kind of feeding. Worse case is a .22 shell is cheap, quick, humane, and I have a couple acres that I can bury the bodies in shallow graves on.

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Originally Posted by Gloryhound

Worse case is a .22 shell is cheap, quick, humane, and I have a couple acres that I can bury the bodies in shallow graves on.

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Priceless... simply priceless!!!!! !

well i will tell you all one thing. We have about 24 babies right now. I cleaned the bins today. another 20 weined babies to juvies and 3 sets of breeders. these things are breeding me out of house and home. I am usually willing to give a breeding set away to anyone who lives within driving distance if you catch me at the right moment. I have about half of our balls on these.

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Originally Posted by shadi11

well i will tell you all one thing. We have about 24 babies right now. I cleaned the bins today. another 20 weined babies to juvies and 3 sets of breeders. these things are breeding me out of house and home. I am usually willing to give a breeding set away to anyone who lives within driving distance if you catch me at the right moment. I have about half of our balls on these.

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The solution is simple.

GET MORE SNAKES!!!

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Originally Posted by mcavana

Priceless... simply priceless!!!!! !

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I grew up in the country where it was just the way things were! This is how you handled a rabbid, badly injured, or a dog that was so old and crippled that its quality of life just wasn't very good anymore. Also you took care of all kinds of rodents this way from possim, raccoons, ground hogs, you name it. Some of them you had to use a larger caliber on than others. I had a .22 rifle by the time I was 8, but knew how to handle one by the time I was 6. A lot of people might not condone this type of thing, but then I would say most of them haven't lived in a place where you have to drive back 10 or more miles of dirt road to get home. My wife grew up in the city and when the time comes she prefers the Dry Ice chamber. Not sure which is more humane!

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Originally Posted by filly77

just a quick question, are the soft furred rats more aggressive than normal rats when it comes to feeding them off? i plan on switching back to rats and have been thinkin about trying the soft furred ones, i LOVE the idea of no smells!!!!

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before i got my ASFR's i was concerned about agression with snakes,after having them the last 4 months i find that they are only agressive when handled.

i free hand them up to hopper size and use rubber tipped hemos with anything larger,i have never been bit in 100's of feeding,cage cleaning etc.

BTW they are LOW odor not odorless.have fun !

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Originally Posted by twh

BTW they are LOW odor not odorless.have fun !

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Yes, I think I used the word odorless, which isn't right because they do have a smell but it's low. Compared to a rat or mouse they might as well be odorless. :D

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Originally Posted by mcavana

The solution is simple.

GET MORE SNAKES!!!

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Ahh yes this is one solution.. Theres only one problem with that.. You buy more snakes then maybe you dont produce enough to feed everyone. Then you raise up another trio of ASF and then you have extras again. Its a big circle.. The solution is only good for a little while. You see thats why we have 3 groups now.. 2 pairs and one trio. and 20 snakes and about half eat the ASF.

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Originally Posted by shadi11

Ahh yes this is one solution.. Theres only one problem with that.. You buy more snakes then maybe you dont produce enough to feed everyone. Then you raise up another trio of ASF and then you have extras again. Its a big circle.. The solution is only good for a little while. You see thats why we have 3 groups now.. 2 pairs and one trio. and 20 snakes and about half eat the ASF.

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DONT BE SO NEGITIVE!

haha
i wish i had the money for ASF... but yeah

you could freeze them... =/