A few of my little ones

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02430.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02429.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02428.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02426.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02425.jpg

Just started with these guys!

Cute! The little guys look so cranky like they just got woken up.
I like those solid colored agoutis a lot, I have 3.6 breeders and have never wound up with a solid agouti; all of mine are RED or pied agouti.

Just a suggestion ('cause I'm one of those tree-hugging sorts who let little fluffies get to me), could you maybe give them something to chew on? There isn't much for them to do in those tubs and some cardboard tubes or wood blocks might provide a some environmental enrichment.

Have fun with them, you'll be overrun before you know it!

thank you! Sure ill give them some cardboard and blocks. Ive only had them for 2 days now. And still have a lot to learn . IM hoping ill be overrun with them soon lol. Do you put the females in there own little tub when they become pregnant?

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02430.jpg

those are weird looking asf's! their heads don't look like they are shaped normal...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Denial

thank you! Sure ill give them some cardboard and blocks. Ive only had them for 2 days now. And still have a lot to learn . IM hoping ill be overrun with them soon lol. Do you put the females in there own little tub when they become pregnant?

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No, I leave everyone together at all times until it's time to pull the weanlings. I would be afraid to try to reintroduce the female after having them separated for so long. The three in the picture Mike said looked 'wierd' are a little odd looking, their faces/eyes look kind of swollen. See how on my pic the face is sharply tapered and the eyes are large and round? Yours look like they have a 'cheekbone' and their eyes are kind of puffy. Hopefully it was just the camera angle and flash because the ones in the other photos look normal.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...00/fatties.jpg

it may be my camera im not sure.

That isn't the camera.

What do you think is wrong with them?

Yea, just like Cob said, you leave them in groups. Once they have a litter, they will kill any new introductions or reintroductions. Even after one night. I've seen it with my own two eyes.

Can't see the pics, so I can't help about how they look.

In on of the the trio's I just thier is one with eyes that don't bulge out like the others. I wonder if it's genetic

oh with the ones I bought theres only a few that have eyes that buldge most of the ones I bought dont buldge. Im not sure whats with that. Im still new to the whole rat thing

honestly I don't know. never seen them look like that before. hopefully connie will get to see the pictures and be able to give a guess at it.

I wonder if yours are are Mastomys coucha instead of Mastomys natalensis.

Neither of the sites are in English, but if you look at them, the M. coucha's look like they have the longer face and wierd ear-set that yours are showing.

http://www.dihu.ch/futter/futtertiere.htm
http://www.garnelen-welt.de/nattern_fut.html

I could be way off and yours could just be normal natals that are 'special' looking, but as long as the appear healthy and breed for you, looks shouldn't matter.

http://www.metalmonkeyexotics.com/blog/?page_id=333 this page has a bunch of ASF. Not all of them have bulgy eyes .also the bin picture of the two ASF shows one with a open eye so maybe it was a reaction to light that they were squinting??

thats actually a very good point becuase I did notice they did not like the flash on the camera!

Another thing about mine is they dont seem to mind handling Ive heard they are kind of mean and bite but none of mine so far have tried to bite me.

It is nearly impossible to tell a coucha from a natalensis, besides counting chromosomes. Their ranges naturally overlap in Africa, so its safe to assume all of our rats are hybrids.

When ASF's are being approached, or I am working close to their face, I often see them close their eyes or squint, which could account for the look on the ASF's faces. When I give them small treats they even do this.

However, those three do look a bit on the thin side, which would give the impression that their faces are longer than a normal ASF.

Their spine is also a little more pronounced than I am used to seeing, but in the rest of the photo's they look fine.