ASF Size Chart

I have fielded numerous questions lately about ASF sizes. I figured I would post these pics just to help others decide if ASF's are right for them. These are the diffferent size classifications I use when selling frozen ASF's. It goes from pinky to fuzy to just weined to small to medium to large. Only sizes not pictured are the breeder and X breeder (Sorry, I don't sell those, so I don't have dead ones to take a picture of!). They are a little longer then the large but a lot thicker.

Please do not use these pictures anywhere. They are NOT for others to use when trying to sell ASF's.

Enjoy.

Pinky: (3-4 grams) One pictured is 3 grams.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ana/1pinky.jpg

Fuzzy (5-6 grams) One pictured is 6 grams.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ana/2fuzzy.jpg

Just Weined (7-9 grams) One pictured is 8 grams.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Justweined.jpg

Small (10 - 20 grams) One picutred is 17 grams.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ana/4small.jpg

Medium (25-35 grams) One pictured is 33 grams.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...na/5Medium.jpg

Large (45-55 grams) One pictured is 52 grams.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ana/6Large.jpg

Hey Mike can you post the ages of them too? that would help a noob asf breeder like my self to see if Im getting good growth.

Righto on the ages, it'd be mighty helpful I think. The only sort of record I have in reference to age and weight was from my first litter at 4 weeks of age... I wrote 20 grams as the weight.

This thread is sticky worthy if my thoughts count...

!!!!!!!!

Sticky:D

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Originally Posted by greghall

Hey Mike can you post the ages of them too? that would help a noob asf breeder like my self to see if Im getting good growth.

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IMHO, that would be hard if not impossible to do because I have found that growth rate varies greatly depending on a few key things:

1.) litter size. When a female has really big litters, it takes a longer period of time before the babies mature enough to be weined. I am guessing the bigger the litter, the less milk mom has to offer to each kid... Make sense?

2.) Number of litters in the tank. Often times if there are two different litters in the same tank, one of the moms will get lazy, and let the other mom do most or all of the feeding for both litters. Once again, that means less milk per baby so it takes longer to grow and develop.

3.) The mom and dad themselves... Some parents simply take better care of the babies then other moms resulting in different rates of growth.

4.) Once a baby is weined and thrown into the grow up tubs joining older same sex generations, some catch on faster then others. Some will immediately eat and drink and grow quickly... Others are shy and timid and take a little longer to get the hang of things without mom. Obviously they grow at a slower rate then the confident siblings that eat and drink and play with the others immediately.

5.) Genetic differences. Just like people there are some ASF's that just don't get as big as other ASF's even when comparing siblings. I have 4 unrelated lines right now. Some seem to grow faster then others, but the others that grow slower seem to get to a bigger size then the ones that grow quickly.

6.) Sex. Females take twice as long to grow to large size as males do. I have found that a female simply stops growing right around the medium / large size until she gets pregnant. Then she gets much bigger. I have older females in the grow up tub right now that have never been introduced to a male since being weined, and they litterally stopped growing right around the medium / large size.

7.) Diet! of course what you feed them has all kinds of impacts on sex ratios of the babies and growth rates. Connie is much more knowledgable in this area then I am so hopefully she can chime in.

Having said all that, now I will guess on the averages. Again, these are ROUGH guesses because of all the factors listed above.

pinky - just born
fuzzy - 1-2 weeks old
weinling -3 weeks old
small - 4 weeks old
Medium - males about 5-7 weeks old /// females about 5-10 weeks old.
Large - Males about 2-3 months old /// females if not bred may not even get this big.


Hope this helps. Not trying to make it look overly complicated... but bottom line, when trying to figure out age to size ratios, it is that complicated!

that great comparsion chart and i like . t I just starting out with asf and the droppnig the first littlers onw. and i knwo what you mean about the lazyness issue . I seen 2 females tryigno t nurse like 20 baby pups I have 2 tanks only right now and I got about 40 asf from a person I purcashed my balls from and I split them inot 2 tanks that i gotten so far and I like the adults they tame and will let me pet them (even with the babies) and ther far less stink than with rats or mice. .. but those babies are so ugly when they start to get the fuzz on them.. ( looks like a lint ball that moves )..

This really needs to get stickied. It took me a little while to find it when I was trying to figure out how many more large rats to buy for my 900g bp before my litter gets big enough...

So, dunno who does stickies but I think this one definitely needs to be up there. If I say sticky enough times, will that work?

sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky

:)

By the way Mike, the ex-breeder I got is much bigger than that large one in the pic, I believe. It would be awesome if you can post a pic of that too with the rest of the other pics. You're the man!

Wow...this still isnt stickied?

You should add a watermark to each of the images......

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Originally Posted by JasonG

This thread is sticky worthy if my thoughts count...

!!!!!!!!

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X2

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Originally Posted by Microddot

Sticky:D

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X2

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anatess

This really needs to get stickied. It took me a little while to find it when I was trying to figure out how many more large rats to buy for my 900g bp before my litter gets big enough...

So, dunno who does stickies but I think this one definitely needs to be up there. If I say sticky enough times, will that work?

sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky

:)

By the way Mike, the ex-breeder I got is much bigger than that large one in the pic, I believe. It would be awesome if you can post a pic of that too with the rest of the other pics. You're the man!

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X2

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Wow...this still isnt stickied?

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That is what I am wondering!

Thanks a lot Mike you are always doing more for this hobby, I for one really appreciate the time you invest in this site!

Mike

Thank you for the great photos!

I am hoping you'll elaborate more on this quote:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Cavanaugh

7.) Diet! of course what you feed them has all kinds of impacts on sex ratios of the babies and growth rates. Connie is much more knowledgable in this area then I am so hopefully she can chime in.

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Is it possible to manipulate the sex ratio through diet? And since you're the ASF guru, what IS the "ideal" ASF diet, in your opinion?

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Originally Posted by Shadera

Thank you for the great photos!

I am hoping you'll elaborate more on this quote:


Is it possible to manipulate the sex ratio through diet? And since you're the ASF guru, what IS the "ideal" ASF diet, in your opinion?

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The ideal ASF diet in my opinion is Lab block. I have always used Mazuri 6F. There are lots of different lab blocks out there, and honestly I don't know much about the others. This is where connie (littleindiangirl) is the expert.

And yes, connie once sent me a study that showed the effects of different protein levels in the feed. According to that study, protein did have an effect on the sex % of the babies. You will have to ask her for more info on that one....

I'll be pestering her shortly, then. :D Thanks!

IMO -- I think your sizes are off.

Pinks should be pinks -- those that are only a day or three old pinkies without hair - and you skipped hoppers altogether. :P

Oh and I don't know about the rest of you but my ASFs go up to 80 grams easy. :D

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Originally Posted by Tosha_Mc

IMO -- I think your sizes are off.

Pinks should be pinks -- those that are only a day or three old pinkies without hair - and you skipped hoppers altogether. :P

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There must be something wrong with your ASF's. The day my asf's are born they have some hair. The Pink in the pic is prob 2 - 3 days old.

As stated in the origional post, these are the sizes I use when I sell frozen ASF's. I at no time said that the pictures represented every stage of development.... Sorry I did not consult you first before making my pricesheet!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tosha_Mc

Oh and I don't know about the rest of you but my ASFs go up to 80 grams easy. :D

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Yeah, you may want to look into what you are doing wrong if your adult ASF's are only getting to around 80 grams. My exbreeders easily get to 120 +

Nevermind I thought you were trying to give accurate information not your pricing list -- didn't say that my ASFs only got up to 80 grams -- I said 80 easy meaning bottom weight for an adult.

Again sorry I misunderstood that you were promoting your product instead of providing information. Perhaps the thread should be moved to the classifieds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tosha_Mc

IMO -- I think your sizes are off.

Pinks should be pinks -- those that are only a day or three old pinkies without hair - and you skipped hoppers altogether. :P

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ASF's are born furry....

These are just hours old.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ady/dayold.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tosha_Mc

Nevermind I thought you were trying to give accurate information not your pricing list -- didn't say that my ASFs only got up to 80 grams -- I said 80 easy meaning bottom weight for an adult.

Again sorry I misunderstood that you were promoting your product instead of providing information. Perhaps the thread should be moved to the classifieds.

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Why are you being rude when he is simply trying to help others? At no point did he say that he is trying to sell any products to anyone or that he will post ever single stage of their life.

Great job mike!

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Originally Posted by Tosha_Mc

Nevermind I thought you were trying to give accurate information not your pricing list

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Tosha, YOU are one of a kind... Thankfully.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

ASF's are born furry....

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As creepy today as it was the first time I saw it. *shudder*

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Originally Posted by JasonG

This thread is sticky worthy if my thoughts count...

!!!!!!!!

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Agreed!

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As creepy today as it was the first time I saw it. *shudder*

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Yep, ASF pinkies are the creepiest!

They kind of remind me of an old lady's mole. You know, the kind with the crazy hairs sprouting out of it? -shudder- Once they're fully furred they're adorable though.

sticky please?? all of mine are now frozen, but would still like to refer to this. Thanks Mike!!

This is a very useful post. Thanks Mike! This definitely deserves to be stickied!

Would you call this Jumbo? LOL

This is Pickle. Just a pet. and a fatty at that!
http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/001663ah

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

Would you call this Jumbo? LOL

This is Pickle. Just a pet. and a fatty at that!
http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/001663ah

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:cens0r: what you feeding that thing? how old is it?

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Originally Posted by llovelace

:cens0r: what you feeding that thing? how old is it?

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Just regular rat/mouse/hamster mix. along with some cuttlebone too. hes about.... 10 months old now

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

Would you call this Jumbo? LOL

This is Pickle. Just a pet. and a fatty at that!
http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/001663ah

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That seems about the norm for an adult male. :gj:

how did you do that without him jumping out?? is he handleable?

Not to speak for Alicia's animal, but my adults rarely jump or run away when being moved. Especially when in a new environment like a scale or light box, they just sit like a deer in headlights.

After looking at your photos I am reminded of why it is advisable to wash your hands after handling money.:D