so whats the deal

with african soft hair? rats

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

with african soft hair? rats

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Is there a specific question in there?

The 30 sec overview is that they are native prey for Ball Pythons and therefore (especially with WC) there is a highly likelyhood that balls will eat them...even when they will eat nothing else. Great for getting really stubborn snakes to eat.

There is a lot of debate on using them (imprinting, availablility, etc.) but I personally breed them and have seen the sucess with stubborn feeders so for me (and others) we are sold. :)

ive heard kinda confusing info on them.. are they nice/mean, exc? are they more nutricious (SP?) whats the upside/downside.. how come more people dont use them, exc..

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

ive heard kinda confusing info on them.. are they nice/mean, exc? are they more nutricious (SP?) whats the upside/downside.. how come more people dont use them, exc..

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They are mean (will bite and draw blood) and they aren't afraid of heights so they will jump for their freedom as soon as you open their cage/tank. They are also don't like outsiders so once a "family" is established any outsiders will be killed (not always but more then likely)

Upside - stay small as adults (so never outgrown perfect BP food size), smell even less then rats, have large litters and as I said earlier they are the normal prey for BP in the wild so most BP will eat them like they are going out of style.

Oh yea...since they don't make good pets most stores don't carry them. Not to mention they were thought to carry Monkey Pox and banned from import years ago (along with all African rodents).

o.m.g. never mind!! i cant believe they are that mean holy moly!!!

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

o.m.g. never mind!! i cant believe they are that mean holy moly!!!

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Don't get me wrong...if you are raising them for food it isn't a big deal as you don't "play" with them anyway. If you are looking for pets then they definately aren't for you. :)

well, we wouldnt be raising to feed off as we only have two snakes right now. we have three female rats who have become the greatest pets i think ive ever owned! they tollerate being held, bathed, groomed, exc. if i cant be hands on i dont want them. even the little rat pups we feed i hold before they go (it does make me sad to see em go but i know the snakes gotta eat)

Yep not a rat I'd recommend as a pet. We were checking some out recently at a store and the bloody things were very bitey! Even for feeders I prefer rats that are more calm and not trying to rip into me while I'm offering them to a snake. To be fair though, poor things in a pet store....I'd bite you too! LOL

They may be really mean, but they're awfully cute. I saw some for the first time at the expo yesterday. They look like rat/gerbil mixes. :) Wouldn't own them as pets, but I've heard they are the perfect food for enticing picky eaters.