young dying

[KCBALLer]

i had my asf colony of 1.4 established now for 2 months. the male has mated all four but only one female has produced. she has had two litters. the first litter all died (7). the second litter (6) had only three live. such small litters and they are all dying. i have them in a ten gallon tank, aspen bedding and feed them mazuri. any suggestions would be helpful. thanks nathanael.

[panthercz]

You might want to consider moving them into something a little larger. 10 gallon tank for 5 ASF's might be pushing it. Perhaps a larger sterilite tub from Walmart like the 73qt 1859. I keep all mine in those.
Also, do you know how old they are? Are these their 1st litters or perhaps are they old and already past their prime?

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Don't think it is the enclosure size... I keep my 1.4's in 10 gallon tanks.... but I do hang my wheel from the top, and use a food hopper, so the entire floor of the tank is clear.

How old were they when you got them? Which mazuri are you feeding? Please explain exactly what your tank set up looks like. Where are they kept? What is the temperature? Can you take pics of their hiny's so we can confirm the sex?

Provide more info. We will figure it out!

[TekWarren]

I would also recommend a larger enclosure. I have been using 58qt sterelite tubs for 1.3 or .4 and it seems be just about right space wise. The babies could be getting trampled more often if the adults are actively moving around. Also they can get stressed/bored without enough room and start eating their babies. Only other thing i can think of that was already mentioned was the age of the breeders, did you get them young or already adult, and where they put together as a breeding group when they where adults or younger?

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Only reason I am thinking it is not the tanks size is that like I said I use 10 gallon tanks with 1.4.... and I haven't had any babies die like this.... and I have 12 - 10 gallon tank set ups! Maybe I am just lucky?

[frankykeno]

Are the young dying off or are they being eaten by the adults. In other words are you finding their dead bodies or are they just disappearing on you? That might well be the key to what is going on as they could be very different colony dynamics or illness or a husbandry issue.

Since you use glass tanks my question would be temps. Are they in any direct contact with sunlight shining in? What's the room temps like where they are kept? Do they have constant access to water and food? Is the water bottle spigot low enough that even the smallest young can easily reach it?

[panthercz]

Only reason I am thinking it is not the tanks size is that like I said I use 10 gallon tanks with 1.4.... and I haven't had any babies die like this.... and I have 12 - 10 gallon tank set ups! Maybe I am just lucky?

I think you're just lucky!

Seriously though I've always seen litter drop offs in my mice and rats once they start getting crowded. As well as the young that are produced are smaller physically.

[littleindiangirl]

i had my asf colony of 1.4 established now for 2 months. the male has mated all four but only one female has produced. she has had two litters. the first litter all died (7). the second litter (6) had only three live. such small litters and they are all dying. i have them in a ten gallon tank, aspen bedding and feed them mazuri. any suggestions would be helpful. thanks nathanael.

I'm thinking that they may be old rats. 7 and 6 are tiny litters...

Also, if you've had them for 2 months, and they have had 2 litters already, she came in pregnant or was old enough to breed right away, which after a period of time, they do not do well being put together into new groups.

If her first litter wasn't the current males, very possible he could have killed them. Males do that in many species to ensure their genes are passed on.

Do you know the age of your ASF's?

[KCBALLer]

wow you guys and gals are awesome...so fast. i got them from my cousin. he runs House of Scales in KC Kansas. he has 2 breeder racks of them set up. they have always been housed together since babies. i don't know their age but the largest female is 71 grams and she runs the show. the other females are all between 60 and 64 grams. the male is 67 grams. the first litter all died but one. and he ended up disappearing. the second litter 3 disappeared but three and then one of them died. now after i started this thead i went down to weigh the females and found another litter of nine. i'll check on what mazuri i am using. it's what my cousin set me up on. i think i am switching to a larger size tub. thanks for the advice.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Now I am really curious about their age.

I know that when you imbreed too long, they can get smaller and smaller. 60 some grams for a female that has already had two litters is pretty light.

Mike