ASF vs. Rats (live)

[Danounet]

Hi there, I am wondering how dangerous are ASFs compared to Rats to a BP. My bps only eat live, so thats why Im wondering all this. I think live rats will eventuly get too big and dangerous for my BPs to eat live. I dont wanna do f/t.

How many ASF could/should a sub-adult BP eat?

How many ASF could/should an Adult BP eat?

How many ASF could/should a Big breeding female BP eat?

Take into consideration I dont realy know anything about ASFs. Thanx!!

[matt71915]

an asf is not more dangerous than a domestic when its being struck at and constricted a bigger rat will have a stronger bite than a smaller one

it all depends on how much your snake weighs
i just went brain dead, i think its 15% of its body weight for one weekly meal

[frankykeno]

I think when you are dealing with unknown prey, that being unknown to you and to the snake, you should always err on the side of caution and feed smaller than normal. I like to make absolutely sure I know the prey's likely reactions and the snake's ability to handle a new type of live prey before I move up to the size I would want that snake to be eating every week. In other words I never drop a live adult ASF in with one of our snakes, even if they could easily eat that size, if they've never seen an ASF before. I'd start with a weanling ASF and work up over the course of a few feedings.

As far as what size ASF for what size snake and how many it's just the same as any rodent. Go with total volume required. If you needed 50 grams of regular rat for that snake and you had 25 gram ASF's you'd feed 2 ASF's instead of 1 regular rat (just an example).

We have a sticky on ASF's that will give you approximate sizes for each developmental stage so that should help you be able to decide what is best for the snake(s) you are feeding.

[Danounet]

Thanks for the warnings but, That wasnt exactly what I was refering too. I meant more compared to a mouse or a rat, how dangerous is an asf for a snake?

Say the snake is already used to eating ASF but still growing up, so it will need bigger prey/asf down the road. Example, I wouldnt drop a rat with big teeth to feed my BPs when they get much bigger.

You cant realy tell teeth and and dangerousity (lol new word?) of an ASF from the posted pictures. I dont see any teeth realy.

By the way I forgot to ask if they smell as much as a mouse or closer to a rat?

[pavlovk1025]

Chickens. They smell, taste and fight back like chickens. BuckAWWWW

side note.
My ASFs dont fight back, they're all frozen and what not. I hear theyre more vicious but some people say otherwise.

[Ben Biscy]

in my experience, asf's are better at survival in a tank with a snake than a rat is. they are usually more alert, and judo kick the snake for getting too close. the rats i use are on the.... dumb... side, to put it nicely, and pose very little threat to the snakes. i stopped feeding asf's live to avoid injury to my animals.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

I don't think ASF's are more dangerous then normal rats. Remember, ASF's are a natural food for BP's. They are what BP's are supposed to eat! Just like I am supposed to eat pizza, chicken wings, and mexican food!

[bads15]

i found in my experience that asf were actually less dangerous to my snake during live feedings then Norwegians. Norwegians tend to try to bite snakes a lot, asf's tend to bite the handler more.however be prepared to have the asf jump out if your not careful. they can jump incredibly high and will jump out of most feeding bins. iv'e seen them jump higher then 3 feet straight up. but your ball pythons will love you for switching to asf's.

[PigsnPythons]

I've been feeding ASFs for over a year and its been my experience that they fight back less than rats. The rats actively try to bite the snake while the snake is constricting it. Most of the ASF feedings I've witnessed don't seem to do that. Of course, there are always exceptions and you should carefully monitor any live feedings.

[Danounet]

Kool! thanx for the info everyone. But by the way no one said how bad they smell compared to mouse or rat.

Where would I get a ASF trio to get started?