ASFs: no dice yet

[Ginevive]

I am beginning to wonder about my trio of ASFs. I am getting no preggers or babies out of them, and I had them for 2 weeks; something should have happened by now. I think that maybe my seller mis-sexed them. Is there anywhere online that has pics of how to differentiate between the sexes? I see no obvious testes on any of them.. lol; maybe they're all females?
Argh!
On the plus side: they have NO odor. And they drink very little water.. less bottle filling needed
One is a bit sleeker than the others. I thought that the 2 heavier ones were pregnant females when I bought them.. but neither are getting bigger or having any babies yet.

[slartibartfast]

Jen, they have the same anatomy as mice...the testes can be a little more retracted and don't protrude as much, but they are definitely there. The females have just a tiny slit vulva. It's pretty clear to see, if you are experienced with mice.

[frankykeno]

Put a fairly high sided food crock in there Jen and watch for them to climb up on it to eat. This is the easiest way I've figured out to easily sex an adult male if he's retracted his bits. When they are up there and eating they tend to ummmm relax a bit and you can get a better hide end view.

I tried to start a second colony. I did have 2 females and 1 male and nothing ever did happen. Not sure why as my other colony does very well. The only thing I noticed different to my main colony is this colony male was HIGHLY aggressive (even for an ASF), to the point where he would attack - not chew, attack - his own water bottle! I think the females just couldn't stand Psycho Rat but then neither could I!

If these were regular rats I'd just say go get a confirmed male and put it in but with ASF's they just don't like strange rats so I'm not sure if a strange male would survive in there. I don't feel I have enough ASF experience to advise you that way unfortunately.

I'd say wait at least 2 more weeks before worrying though. The 2 weeks you've had this trio really isn't long enough to judge whether they are fit for breeding or not.

[mistino]

Jen we got 2 trios of asfs and one group took almost 3 months to start having any babies. Now that they have been together so long they are producing great. The other group took just over a month to have there first babies. I would not stress yet over not seeing anything just yet. They may just take a little longer.

[Laooda]

Not to hijack your thread Gin... But I'm curious about a few things. I have 1 mouse eater, and have thought about maybe getting some ASF to appease her. Obviously one BP is not going to eat all the offspring? Even from 1.1, so I assume the rest of the snakes get ASF candy... I feed rats, so if I throw a random ASF in with an established rat eater, is it going to turn it off of rats!?!? Or should I continue to purchase 1 mouse at a time LOL Thank for any input... and again sorry for the

[monk90222]

Jen we got 2 trios of asfs and one group took almost 3 months to start having any babies. Now that they have been together so long they are producing great. The other group took just over a month to have there first babies. I would not stress yet over not seeing anything just yet. They may just take a little longer.

I agree. I have an adult 1.4 and thatI got in December, and they all had litters the last week in Jan....So don't worry ASF's are prolific it just takes time to start-up

[Pythonman]

It definitely takes more time to get the ASF's going...Check for nipples... If you can clearly see nipples on all three and never see balls...you can start asking questions

[monk90222]

Not to hijack your thread Gin... But I'm curious about a few things. I have 1 mouse eater, and have thought about maybe getting some ASF to appease her. Obviously one BP is not going to eat all the offspring? Even from 1.1, so I assume the rest of the snakes get ASF candy... I feed rats, so if I throw a random ASF in with an established rat eater, is it going to turn it off of rats!?!? Or should I continue to purchase 1 mouse at a time LOL Thank for any input... and again sorry for the

I got all my mousers on ASF first try... babies take some time to get up to feeding size so you might be OK with 1.1

[Ginevive]

I am starting to think that they're all girls. I don't see any evidence of testes on any of them, and they all look the same "down there."
I wonder if I should just talk directly to the man who my friend gets them from, and get a male from him? I am leary about adding him into the colony, but if I don't do something, I might as well feed them off, and I would much rather breed them. I LOVE the fact that they have really no odor. And they'll never "outgrow" my BPs; I could see myself switching mostly to ASFs (besides the snakes I plan on selling.)