New and nervous!

[Corvid]

Hi, I am new to the world of AFSs but have 2 breeding trios going.
The producing colony (the 2nd is not quite old enough yet) now has 2 litters in the tank, and Im NERVOUS!!!
Some Q's:
1. The first litter was born 13 days ago (yes, 13 ) and the newest litter was born TODAY. The babies are all together, do I need to worry about the 1 day olds? They and sort of being bushed to the bottom by the bigger kids.
Is everyone going to get what they need? Having bred birds in the past I'm used to survival of the fittest which wouldn't give these guys a chance...
2. When do I wean? I have read 3 weeks, but we are at 2 now and these guys don't even have their eyes open! Will they really be ready in a week??
3. When I separate them in the weaner cages should I separate the sexes? I intend to grow them to appropriate size and CO2 and freeze them... I hadn't planned on separating.

Thank you!

[llovelace]

They will be fine, both mom's will nurse all the babies. wean at about 4 wks, but make sure they are eating & drinking on their own. Yes I would have seperate grow out tubs.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

1. nothing to worry about. you may loose a baby or two, but there is nothing you can do about that. Normally you won't loose any.

2. You can wean as soon as their eyes are open. they will still look very small and helpless, but trust me they aren't. keep in mind as soon as their eyes are open, mom will usually be just a couple days away from popping again. I think it is very important to wean them as soon as you can for the moms sake.

3. I recommend separating the sexes when you wean them. there are some people that don't. the reason I separate is that there is less fighting among the kids as they get to the reproductive age... and it is also 1,000 times easier when you have to go into the grow out tubs to pick out a new breeding group. You know the females are virgins, and not already pregnant from another man. If they are pregnant from another man, just like humans, it causes all kinds of drama in the house when they are born!

[Corvid]

Thank you Mike,
I hadn't considered the drama amongst the sexes as they're growing. I just figured, meh their all going to be feeders so put them in the grow bin.
I spoil the heck out of my AFS's, If they're happy then they're going to be healthy which will directly transfer into my snakes!
Thank you for your insight.