One of my males died yesterday

[KLHReptiles]

I have 3 groups of 1.3 ASFs. So anyways yesterday I noticed that one of the males was gasping for breath and really didn't look like he was going to survive the night. I was just in that room the day before and everybody looked fine, so its just weird that he would be like that all of a sudden. On a good note, I offered him to my 07 pastel female who hadn't eaten in MONTHS, left him in there because by then he was barely breathing and when I came back he was gone (bittersweet victory). So now I guess I'll have to try to raise up one of the baby males that are currently in their tub to use as the new breeder male. Too bad I can't just plop in a new male from my grow-out cages. I also have a question.....one of my 1.3 setups have been together since February but no females show any signs of being pregnant. Should I assume that the male is sterile or give it some more time? Thanks!

[frankykeno]

I'd assume that there is some sort of infertility going on as they should have produced by now I would think. Do you see the male chasing the females around. This chasing is a necessary part of their mating rituals and some females will not stand to breed if he doesn't chase them first.

If he's the issue trying to put in a new male likely won't work so you may have to feed off the whole group. You can try a new male in there but the resident females may kill him. If you do want to try a new male, remove some of the females stinky bedding from the enclosure and put him in a very small container with it for a couple of hours. That may transfer enough colony scent to keep him safe from the females.

For the other colony, raising up one of their own male offspring is the safest bet. It puts you a bit behind on production but it's the safest way to bring a fertile male back into that group of females.

[KLHReptiles]

Thanks Joanna for your response. For the non-producing group I will try what you said about scenting the new male with dirty bedding, hopefully it will work. Waiting for a new colony to get of age and start breeding will take longer. I figured that it was probably a fertility issue because after over 2 months I shouldve seen something by now. And no I don't see chasing, I don't really much of any activity in their cage except for excessive feed chewing (have put in a wheel to help their boredom).

As for the other group with the dead male, I guess my only choice will be to keep one of the male babies already in there. Yea it will set back my production significantly as those females are very good producers. Do you think that the females will kill the baby that I leave in there? I ask this because I hear from some people that the females kill older pups if they aren't weaned quickly enough. Thanks!

[frankykeno]

He'll probably do okay but you just never know with rodents. They sometimes do things we'll never quite understand, especially rodents like these with such a strict social structure. All you can do is try.

[KLHReptiles]

Well just as I was about to take the "infertile" male out of the cage to be fed off today I saw 3 little pinkies. Guess he's not infertile after all. None of these females looked pregnant, and neither do the other 2 females....and I know what they look like pregnant....freaking golf balls lol. So I guess I will let him stick around after all....he's a real lucky guy that Monday is snake feeding day.