How long should I wait?

[SilverWolf]

I read that gestation for ASF's is 21 to 26 days. I've had my 1.3 for 22 days now and besides the one female who was ready to pop when I got her none of the others look even close to pregnant. I asked the pet shop I bought them from if they had babies while they had them and they said no. They had them for almost a month before I got them.

So, how much longer should I wait to see if either of the other 2 females will get "knocked up" before I decide that maybe they just aren't going to work for breeders? I know I'm probably being impatient, but I would love to see some more babies.

Thanks for the help!

[rebeccabecca]

I heard that the black sunflower seeds cause them to want to mate more but IDK. Mine aren't very productive at all and only have had one litter so far. Good thing this is just a tinker project as I would be quite fustrated by now if I needed the babies badly.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

give them another week or two. Any time you get ASF's from a petshop, your best bet is to hold back the very first litter of babies, and set up breeding groups out of them.... then as soon as they are producing, feed off the parents. There is no telling how old the petstore buys are, or what conditions they grew up in. You would have to be pretty lucky to find young adults at a petshop who have been treated and fed well.

[SilverWolf]

Thanks for the replies. I'll try and be patient and give them some more time.

My bf said he thinks the other females are starting to fatten up a little so maybe because I'm looking at them every day I don't notice it as much. lol

And I'll try and keep some back for a new group, that is if they make it that long. If not I'll feed them off and start again with some younger ones from a local breeder I found.

Thanks again!

[tnelsonfla]

Sometimes my trios have off-set litters also. I have some that one gets preggo one month then the other the next month, not the best set up but it is only one group that does it. The litters have been 18, 21, 20...so they are large and both moms nurse.

[SilverWolf]

Well, not exactly sure what happened. But went to check on them last night and found one of the gruesome sights I've read and seen on here before. Basically just the back half was the only thing left on one of the girls. They've always had food and water. So I guess I'm just going to feed them off and maybe start over with some younger ones. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.

[Kysenia]

I have 5 groups of 1 male 3 females......Very seldom do I seem to have more then one litter at a time, they seem to take turns? A couple times I will have 2/3 females pregnant but they are often at different stages. A good female is not always your best breeder....if you observe them I will always keep a non-producing female if she is a good caregiver....i notice that a lot in my groups that there seems to be one that gets pregnant less then the others but she seem to be a lead in the caregiving and nursing. Not sure if any of this made sense.

Observe the dynamics of the group and be careful not to feed off a female that doesnt produce as much as another, I have noticed that they seem to be better caregivers, this is not researched or based off scientific data lol

[Mike Cavanaugh]

do you have any of the kids left? if so just start a new conlony made just of the kids.

[SilverWolf]

do you have any of the kids left? if so just start a new conlony made just of the kids.

No babies left from the first litter. After I realized someone was killing them off I decided to feed the rest of the babies to the Bearded Dragons, BTS, and Tokay's. Figured at least that way I'd get some use out of them.

After one of the females was killed and half eaten I had decided to feed them all off to the snakes. Well, guess my boyfriend decided not to do that as he kept going to the store to buy regular rats and mice. He just said he forgot about the ASF's and it was too late, snakes had already eaten. Of course he did that two weeks in a row. I think he was just scared of them. lol

So I still have the 1.2 and one of the females just had babies. No idea how many. As soon as I realized there was babies I put a bunch of food in there and I am going to leave them alone besides feeding and water changes. If they make it long enough to leave the nest then maybe I'll find out how many. lol If the babies don't make it then I'll make sure the adults get fed off this time. So I guess only time will tell.

Thanks!

[llovelace]

Well, you only had to wait 2 weeks for the answer to your question. Good luck