Females not getting re-preggo

[littleindiangirl]

Try replacing the male. If the newest girl hasnt produced, you male might be a dud.

[redmantodd]

Try replacing the male. If the newest girl hasnt produced, you male might be a dud.

How could he be a dud if he has already produced 3 litters? Just asking. I just recently got my first trio, so I am clueless. I have been watching these threads to learn as much as I can. Thanks.

Red

[frankykeno]

Austin, just some questions to clarify what might be going on.

Are you absolutely sure these were young ASF's just coming into their breeding age?

When are you pulling the previous litters off to be weaned and raised as feeders or future breeders?

How hot is the room the ASF's are in? What kind and size of enclosure do you use for them? Do you provide a hiding area and a wheel?

Do your male ASF seem to be a good breeder (chasing the females a lot, physically ummm "suited" to his job in the colony ).

My understanding is that ASF's tend to breed more in the warmer months, less in the cooler months. Regular sized rats tend to be the exact opposite.

[frankykeno]

How could he be a dud if he has already produced 3 litters? Just asking. I just recently got my first trio, so I am clueless. I have been watching these threads to learn as much as I can. Thanks.

Red

How do I say this in a family friendly way LOL.

A male rat, whether that's an ASF or a regular sized one, needs to be an enthusiastic breeder. Especially with ASF's because the females will not stand still and allow him to mount them unless he chases them a bit first. If he's not chasing them around, he's not impregnanting them. Also, again with ASF's and regular rats, male rats need the "equipment" to be able to breed many females. Some male rats are just not born with enough "junk in their boy trunk" to get the job done as well as other male rats might. (gawd it would just be easier to say "they need to have big testicles" wouldn't it LMAO)

Because of issues with ASF's not accepting new members into a breeding colony you may have to either start over with better breeders or allow time for one of the sons of this colony to grow up within the colony and begin breeding. You'd need to remove his sire to avoid somebody getting chewed up. I know some folks can keep more than one male to a colony or introduce new ASF's into an established group but everytime I've tried it some poor rat got slashed to ribbons within seconds.

[ThyTempest]

How do I say this in a family friendly way LOL.

... male rats need the "equipment" to be able to breed many females. Some male rats are just not born with enough "junk in their boy trunk" ...

Lol. If they have another litter (I hope so), I will be holding back a boy to replace dear old dad.

[frankykeno]

Lol. If they have another litter (I hope so), I will be holding back a boy to replace dear old dad.

Well it's not easy to be delicate about telling people they need to check out the back end of their potential male breeder rodents. At our house we refer to that part of their anatomy as "butt pillows".

[sweety314]

Hee hee....I was wondering Joanna if you were going to mention the B.P.s!

I only have one set 1.2 (my others, all 3 died a week after I bought 'em ) but I had a lag of about 4+ weeks where there weren't any babies from either female, and this after I had weaned the latest 2 weeks before. But now, I've got another litter of 16 just about ready pull. I think maybe the room was too cold??? I had turned the space heater off, but then the night temps dropped down to the teens. I've turned the heater back on....the ASFs and the rats are all is R's bedroom, so I'm hoping I can keep both species happy and procreating.

[redmantodd]

I know it is only one of the variables, but would some heat from under their enclosure help if the room they are in stays between 65 and 68? Thanks.

Red

[ThyTempest]

Austin, just some questions to clarify what might be going on.

Are you absolutely sure these were young ASF's just coming into their breeding age?

When are you pulling the previous litters off to be weaned and raised as feeders or future breeders?

How hot is the room the ASF's are in? What kind and size of enclosure do you use for them? Do you provide a hiding area and a wheel?

Do your male ASF seem to be a good breeder (chasing the females a lot, physically ummm "suited" to his job in the colony ).

My understanding is that ASF's tend to breed more in the warmer months, less in the cooler months. Regular sized rats tend to be the exact opposite.

I don't know how I missed this post the first time around....

Anyway, they are in lab tanks that measure ~ 18x12x5...I didn't measure it, just a guesstimate. They don't get a wheel, but I have tried them in a different enclosure with a wheel, and to my surprise they never used it (after 2 weeks). They don't have a hide box, but the back of the enclosure usually has something over it to keep it dark. Temps are room temp, so anywhere from 65-75 or so. I am absolutely sure that they were all youngins when I got them. The first litter was separated 2 days after they all had their eyes open, eating and drinking. The subsequent litters were pulled at the fuzzy stage for baby corn snake feeders. Dad's "butt pillow" is proportionally just as big as any others I have seen, and is about the same proportionally to our big male rats.

[frankykeno]

It seems you do have everything right Austin or as close to it as any rodent should really need. Sometimes a breeding group is just not as strong as another. I've found in my own ASF setup that a group of breeders, the same age as another group, related to that group, in an identical setup can sometimes just not be the good producers the other colony is. Sometimes if you can't encourage them to do a better job, then it's best to feed off and start over from fresh stock.