A act of kindness!

[Brock Wagner]

I just wanted to let everyone here to know about a great act of kindness that a fellow member here did for me. I know that there are certain people here that don't like me but hey you are not everyone!

Anyways I met Alice last year and everyone told me that she was very sweet lady. This year Alice did some business with me and I very appreciative of that! She is a great person extremely honest and down to earth at the same time! She sends correspondence letters which are awesome. I can't say enough nice things about her. I was talking to her and she told me that she has African Soft Fur rats and that she raises them. I told her that I would love to have some in my rodent colony so in Daytona Alice gave me a trio to take home with me. Needless to say my wife was not happy having to ride home with the ASF's in vehicle that was already cramped on the way back. We all made it home safely and now my trio has turned into 8 ASF's and these guys are really cute! I love them!

I just wanted to share a act of kindness that someone here did for me and to say thanks Alice! You are the best. Next year I have a special gift cooking for you!

Thanks for reading!
Brock

[Moriar]

KUDOS! ASF's are freaking cute. but i hear they can have a bad temper /shrug i might grab some should i get a chance...

[West Coast Jungle]

Alice sounds like a sweet heart. (Kudos) I would love to get some of those ASF's in my collection. Are they friendly or not?

[Alice]

Thanks for the kind words Brock! It has always been a pleasure dealing with you. IMHO, you have a great collection and produce stunning animals. It was real easy for me to give you that trio of ASF after you dealt with me in our transactions in the most professional and honest manner. Thanks again!

Raul, the ASF that I have been raising are not any more friendly than other rats. They are just different. The adult size is the same size as mice. The one advantage to me is they don't smell as bad as mice, at least not to me, and they are easier to start a colony and introduce new members to an existing colony - opposite of mice. I do not feed the ASF to the snakes I plan to sell because the buyer might not have access to them. I usually use them for my adults that I'm trying to get back eating - they seem to switch back to rats quite easily after ASF.

[Rakshasi]

I love hearing stories like this. That was very nice of her to do that for you!

[Brock Wagner]

I really appreciated it. I just wanted everyone to know how awesome Alice is and doing business with someone like her is one of the small joys in the Reptile business. She will do you no wrong that is for sure. I almost forgot a picture. Since I am famous for my pictures. Here they are!


Brock

[Flagg]

I would love to get some of those ASF's in my collection. Are they friendly or not?

NOT.

Good feeders though.

And Brock, you need a bigger tub if that's their permanent home. They need quite a bit more space than mice.

[Sunny1]

That was very sweet of you Alice!! Kudos!

Brock those ASFs are super cute!! I love the lighter colored one.

Would they still be as unfriendly as I have read other posts claim if they were handled at a young age???

[Brock Wagner]

Flagg thanks for the advice. I was told to kept them crowded as I heard they to better. I have bigger tubs I will experiment and see what works best!


Brock

[Flagg]

In my experience, when they are kept "crowded" they kill each other off. One of the few information sites claimes they need at least a 24" wide cage to breed properly, though I have had success in 10 gal (20"x10") tanks with small 1.2 colonies.

As for taming them, handling them from birth, well I've tried it and it doesn't work. They're fine until they reach hopper stange and then they absolutely refuse to be held. They will leap off you at any height with no fear of falling. And they are VERY strong jumpers.

As adults they tend to bite a LOT and they grab on (breaking the skin) and won't let go. Some are very aggressive and will actively chase you down inside the cage so they can bite you.

Forget any experience with normal domestic rats or mice, there is no comparison. In my opinion this makes them even better suited as feeders since I can't bear to feed off tame domestic rats.