are they just mutliply too quick ?

ok I new to the asf front compaired ot rats and mice.
I got a 3 tanks with littler and most are about in the weaned stage of life . My problem has been this over he last 3 -4 days I finding some that are either too weak to make it or find them dead in the cage .. I take the weak one ( they don't even fight any when picked up) and offer them t the younger snakes( mainy the small corns) but I also worried cause I seen a few of them as adults wit htheir eye shut al lthe time ( almost leke they glued shut ) is there anytihg I can do to improve their overall health and somethig for the eyes ? I don't think I could pick p one and hold them and gently wash the face wit ha wet rag with out either loosing a finger or possible breakign the tiny bones with my meat paws ..

aslo what doe it mean when the male is getting the fur and tail are chewed on by the other rodents . ( he a single male in the cage if I remember? )

What are you feeding them, how many do you have housed together in what size enclosure?

feed a mixure of bird/rodent seeds with a rodent lab blocks added , there is also noodles (uncooked), and hey get the stray helpign of steamed vegies that are not eaten with dinner..

I also know i nthe one tank even with the chew block of wood they chewing ( and removing ) a lot of the lower metal on the bottle holder. they all tame as can be and are not fighting thati seen. as for tanks they in 3 different sized ones. so I can guessing a 20 tall , 15 long and a standard reptile 20-30 wide tank. Ijust changed the litter and that all got a exersice wheel ( which is more of a sit onthe porch typ for them ) and plastic bowl for hides 9 whic they not chewing on )

I keep mine in a 1.2 ratio. I feed them Quality Rodent block and eveyone once in a while I give em some cheerios. Thats all I offer for food. In my opinion thats all they need. I use a mix of aspen shavings and equine fresh pellets.I offer a wheel for boredom. I also have a simple hide and glass water bottle. They are kept in a 70 degree room. I clean their cages every week to 10 days.As far as I know My asf breeders are unrelated. I have never had any problems " knock on wood " with eye problems or weak rodents. You may want to check out your husbandry and maybe stick to a simple diet. Hope this helps in some way shape or form. Jeff Krupa

We have a breeding trio in a lab tank and have been doing pretty well. We have produced two litters so far, and I am hoping the females will get pregnant again soon...it has been 2 weeks since we weaned the last ones. They get Mazuri 6f or 9f lab blocks and some occasional cereals and veggies. We use pine pellets and aspen for substrate.

Sorry I can't be more help.

God bless man, if they produce more than you can feed! I just started a few months back but they still haven't completely eliminated my bill yet!

Do they babies have easy access to water and food? Also, how many are you keeping in a tank?

I do it simple I gogni ot get a couple pics and upload them . they are kept in the snke room because the rest of the trailer does not stay above 70 all the time .

ok if i do this right lol ( each form seemd ot be differnet on pic
s)

http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/...3&userid=10820


that the link to the area I posted the 2 (of 3) cages and the rack for my snakes

Seems a little croweded to me, or will be once the babies grow up a bit more.

Also, it was hard to tell what food they have available, and if the water bottle is low enough for the weanlings to get to. Also, even if they can get to it, it looks like a large sip stem, typically used for rats and rabbits, so it may be too big for the weanling ASF's to use.

Imo you should remove all the weanlings to a seperate tank.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by llovelace

Imo you should remove all the weanlings to a seperate tank.

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that be hard since i don't have room for another tank as for the water bottl it the only kind i cna find ( smallest at 8 oz ) I got it wrapped in tin and aduct tape so they not chew thoug hthe plastic. being on disablitly mean I don't have fund to be purchasing bottles( lids) every week. also a reaso n igive them a mixed diet cause i can only find the lab blocks in 1lb bock and they running about 4 bucks a box . and the 3 tanks can go though about 3 box aweek. ) with the mixure of seed ( mainly a filler) and othe other food ideals they get every day they eat better than I do at times lol.



lol i been feeding the smaller (runt sized ) ones off to the corns i got since they about the right size the adults asf are gettign fed off once in a while but I am afraid to use to many at once cause of the youngest not beign able to fend for selves. I considerign feedign the males off this week since I got baby asf that will mature I figuer about the time the next group of babies are able to fend for them selves. then I will start again with another group .. I mix the babies up( once per group ) aka take al lthe babies place in a shoe box then make 3 split them among the 3 tubs to help keep the gene as open as possible . I easnt to build abetter tub( caging unit for them also this summer but I know my luck is they chew thought a tub in a single night and I have x number of dead rodents/missing rodents cause they got loose .

call around and see if any feed stores sell FRM rodent feed, you will save yourself a bundle. Check here FlintRiver Millsand see if there is anything you are close to.

If your going to raise ASF's, you'll need more space. This can be as simple as a sterilite tub with smooth insides.

BTW, if it hasnt been mentioned, try to get the water bottle as low as possible, or give them some step up to it. ASF's start to eat and drink before their eyes are even open.

Your paying quite a bit in feed, if you can find a feed store nearby, or a Tractor Supply Company store, they can special order Kent Rodent feed for you.

You've stated you can only buy the small 8 oz size bottle, have you tried to look online anywhere and have it mailed to your house?

I understand you don't have the funds to continue buying water bottles, so if you need any help with arrangments, I have made hardware cloth food and water hoppers for members here, and would extend that offer to you if you'd like.

I know some people just don't have the time or skill to get these things made, but I would be more than happy to help you out with that. Just PM, or email me if you would like to take me up on that.

<------------(Click on my name to the left, send private message)

the smallest bottles I found aer the 8 oz water bottles i can get eh larger ones. but i find it a pain to buy bottles all the tiem for them to chew uo. as for the tips it theonly size i know they came in.
I do place hteone hid under the water bottl to allow the rodents to climb up on them. ( I just finished cleannig the cages whe n Itoo tkhe pics so I had yet ot replace stuff were it goes )

update the little ones are drinking fromthe bottle cause I caught them 3 different times this weekend. I also am mixing in the cat/dog food mix I use on the rats wit hthe asf seed andthe loving it .. one thing they don't like is oranges which I foud odd but the rats i got will fight over them ..


I might see if I cna find a tub to place all the weaned rodentinto an raise and go from there I am gonig ot try and find a rubber stopper and tip ( beanfarm got them ) that fit into a glass beer bottle type set up to make hanging water bottles tha won't be as simple chew toys lol and they be cheap enough to replace if the do chew them up since walk down any road will bring me a load of them lol...

I just need ot figure out how ot measure the opening in mm t o order the stopper pieces.

sorry forgot this post lol..

I end up feeding off one tank of adultsover the last 2 weeks and put he youngest in with he other asf and turnedthe one tank into a weanlnig cage for the weaned and posted a ad oncraiglist for people than look or feeders for thier snakes.. I aslo bee looking for a large flat tub ( with out luck ) they all seem to have some molding on the bottom or near the top were the jumpers would be able to reach . As far as my bottle iss they almost quit chewing on the bottles cause of the tin and i als placing rarehide chew items in the cage ( aka the pigskin for dogs ) as well as gotten s ome empty beer bottles to get the rubber stoppers for ( onc I can find a way to measure the openign for the cork /tip piece) Beanfarm says to measure in mm to get a best fit .. I think i will make a custom holer for the bottles
this way if the destroy a bottle i can just replace it ( for free with a short walk down a back road. )

i hapen to make i nive find. I had to add a humidifier to the room cause the heat t just driesthe air out. Anyhow it seemd to help the asf some too. the eye issues is all bu gone and the little suckers are calmin gdown even more . Iswitched hte snakes over to the asf alomost completey since they breeding so much better than rats and don;t have the smell like the mice did.

I try to keep the weans in till another mom gives birth again if its to early Ill put the pinks in another cage with the same size young any runts get fed off.your cage is not crowded at all.

not in th ose picutres lol I got some that are almost full grown ( size wise) they doing great and I seen today when I did my weekly cage cleaning that I have some not quite weaned yet one they look like they almost hairless . the coats are so thin I can see the skin underneath with problems. I not sure if this is adefect or just a sign ofpossible something misssing in the diet or what but they al lseem to be doing good. I aquired some oak shaving from a friend that does oldfashion ( hand tools) wood working and that was a great save and really interesting since i can get more when ever he got some . and it was a nice dark brown and the asf loved it too. cause they get a thicker bed of shavings. I amit to skimpping most the time one the thicknees cause I change it almost every week to make sure there is little to no oder since they in with the snakes.

now if I can get my hands on a coule sheets of plywood to start this other snake rack.