Females not getting re-preggo

So I am stunned that our ASF's are not getting preggo again after their first litters. We have a trio going and the first litter went well. The litters were about 2 weeks apart, like planned, and the second litter is now 3 weeks old. From what other people have said, I was expecting the mom's to be pregnant again right away, in which case the first mother should have given birth again by now, and the second one should be getting really close. Neither of them have shown any signs of pregnancy. I have been waiting to wean the babies in there right now until we see signs of impending birth.

Anyone have any ideas? Their diets, enclosures etc have not changed...Mazuri 9f in lab tanks.

just from a mommy perspective ... if I had a bunch of babies feeding off of me I woud NOT want to do it all over again and add more! LMAO other than that i really can't help ya sorry! I couldn't help myself hehehe

Hey, not saying I would either...but still...I thought these guys were machines. Maybe it is the fact that they are still nursing, but I know other people have had them give birth while still nursing the previous litter almost ready to wean.

Maybe you should pm Mike Cavanaugh on this, he's the only one I see on here on a regular basis re: asf's I know there are more, hope you get your answer

It'll come. If their eyes are open and they are running around and eating, wean them.

Someone did post about noticing a gap between first and 2nd litters but I haven't been working with them long enough myself to confirm that.

What temperature range are your ASF's kept at? I've also heard of slowdowns in the winter. I'm keeping mine around 80 as I've heard of them breeding up to 95 but have experienced pinky loss in the low 70's. I don't know but would suspect if you are much cooler than 70 they might stop breeding all together.

sometimes there is a gap.

It definately varies. sometimes there is a gap... most of the time there isn't.

So just an update for everyone. We got our ASF's on November first, and just as expected, the older female gave us a litter before December rolled around. The younger female popped before New Years. The first female gave us her second and last litter around the end of January, maybe early February. Younger female still has not produced another litter, and the holdback female from the very first litter has still not shown anything.

I am getting very frustrated with this, especially since our picky/non-feeding bp started eating again this week. I could really use some more production.

They have been on Mazuri 9 and 6f, but I am getting a 23% protein Kent rodent diet next week to see how that goes. Any other suggestions not already mentioned? I am at my wits end and have decided that if they don't produce on the new food, the breeders are going to be considered feeders as soon as the rest of the youngins are fed off.

I havent had an issue like that. My production has gone down. Mostly due to my fault. I didnt retire soon enough and start soon enough. I have had a few times where they were spaced apart. No clue what caused it.

Try replacing the male. If the newest girl hasnt produced, you male might be a dud.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Try replacing the male. If the newest girl hasnt produced, you male might be a dud.

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How could he be a dud if he has already produced 3 litters? :confused: Just asking. I just recently got my first trio, so I am clueless. I have been watching these threads to learn as much as I can. Thanks.

Red

Austin, just some questions to clarify what might be going on.

Are you absolutely sure these were young ASF's just coming into their breeding age?

When are you pulling the previous litters off to be weaned and raised as feeders or future breeders?

How hot is the room the ASF's are in? What kind and size of enclosure do you use for them? Do you provide a hiding area and a wheel?

Do your male ASF seem to be a good breeder (chasing the females a lot, physically ummm "suited" to his job in the colony :rolleyes:).

My understanding is that ASF's tend to breed more in the warmer months, less in the cooler months. Regular sized rats tend to be the exact opposite.

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Originally Posted by redmantodd

How could he be a dud if he has already produced 3 litters? :confused: Just asking. I just recently got my first trio, so I am clueless. I have been watching these threads to learn as much as I can. Thanks.

Red

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How do I say this in a family friendly way LOL. :oops:

A male rat, whether that's an ASF or a regular sized one, needs to be an enthusiastic breeder. Especially with ASF's because the females will not stand still and allow him to mount them unless he chases them a bit first. If he's not chasing them around, he's not impregnanting them. Also, again with ASF's and regular rats, male rats need the "equipment" to be able to breed many females. Some male rats are just not born with enough "junk in their boy trunk" to get the job done as well as other male rats might. (gawd it would just be easier to say "they need to have big testicles" wouldn't it LMAO)

Because of issues with ASF's not accepting new members into a breeding colony you may have to either start over with better breeders or allow time for one of the sons of this colony to grow up within the colony and begin breeding. You'd need to remove his sire to avoid somebody getting chewed up. I know some folks can keep more than one male to a colony or introduce new ASF's into an established group but everytime I've tried it some poor rat got slashed to ribbons within seconds.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

How do I say this in a family friendly way LOL. :oops:

... male rats need the "equipment" to be able to breed many females. Some male rats are just not born with enough "junk in their boy trunk" ...

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Lol. If they have another litter (I hope so), I will be holding back a boy to replace dear old dad.

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Originally Posted by ThyTempest

Lol. If they have another litter (I hope so), I will be holding back a boy to replace dear old dad.

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Well it's not easy to be delicate about telling people they need to check out the back end of their potential male breeder rodents. At our house we refer to that part of their anatomy as "butt pillows". :D

Hee hee....I was wondering Joanna if you were going to mention the B.P.s!:8::8:

I only have one set 1.2 (my others, all 3 died a week after I bought 'em :mad: ) but I had a lag of about 4+ weeks where there weren't any babies from either female, and this after I had weaned the latest 2 weeks before. But now, I've got another litter of 16 just about ready pull. I think maybe the room was too cold??? I had turned the space heater off, but then the night temps dropped down to the teens. I've turned the heater back on....the ASFs and the rats are all is R's bedroom, so I'm hoping I can keep both species happy and procreating. :)

I know it is only one of the variables, but would some heat from under their enclosure help if the room they are in stays between 65 and 68? Thanks.

Red

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Austin, just some questions to clarify what might be going on.

Are you absolutely sure these were young ASF's just coming into their breeding age?

When are you pulling the previous litters off to be weaned and raised as feeders or future breeders?

How hot is the room the ASF's are in? What kind and size of enclosure do you use for them? Do you provide a hiding area and a wheel?

Do your male ASF seem to be a good breeder (chasing the females a lot, physically ummm "suited" to his job in the colony :rolleyes:).

My understanding is that ASF's tend to breed more in the warmer months, less in the cooler months. Regular sized rats tend to be the exact opposite.

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I don't know how I missed this post the first time around....

Anyway, they are in lab tanks that measure ~ 18x12x5...I didn't measure it, just a guesstimate. They don't get a wheel, but I have tried them in a different enclosure with a wheel, and to my surprise they never used it (after 2 weeks). They don't have a hide box, but the back of the enclosure usually has something over it to keep it dark. Temps are room temp, so anywhere from 65-75 or so. I am absolutely sure that they were all youngins when I got them. The first litter was separated 2 days after they all had their eyes open, eating and drinking. The subsequent litters were pulled at the fuzzy stage for baby corn snake feeders. Dad's "butt pillow" is proportionally just as big as any others I have seen, and is about the same proportionally to our big male rats.

It seems you do have everything right Austin or as close to it as any rodent should really need. Sometimes a breeding group is just not as strong as another. I've found in my own ASF setup that a group of breeders, the same age as another group, related to that group, in an identical setup can sometimes just not be the good producers the other colony is. Sometimes if you can't encourage them to do a better job, then it's best to feed off and start over from fresh stock.

Thanks for all the help everyone, especially Joanna. We are going to let this breeding trio keep trying until I run out of live feeders, then they become food and we start over. Pandora came off her winter fast last week, so I am happy, and she gobbled up an ASF.

If holding back some new breeders doesnt work, I think I will try to make arrangements to meet someone at the Taylor show sometime this summer.