say it aint so.....

[sarahlovesmiike]

Right now we have an albino girl that we bought for breeding but I fell in love and my boyfriend decided he needed one too. Then two became three and well... You see where this is going

[Michelle.C]

I've been into snakes longer than rats, but I fell in love with Rats. It's amazing how intelligent they are. I have 10 pet rats and I adore them. I went a year or so without rats in my life and I really felt like something was missing.

I don't feel like it's a conflict, I feel like it's another positive aspect of keeping reptiles. I've open my mind to so many species since I started keeping reptiles. It went from reptiles, to amphibians, to rats and finally to inverts. It also helps that I feed f/t only. Helps take away that feeling that you are betraying either party.

[Jeremy78]

I bought a pair of asfs unknowingly and they have become pets lol. I think my breeder mice are pets/feeders. I still play with them and stuff. But then I toss em in with the bp and I get more babies and play with them. It's like the neverending cycle of pets haha.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Sure, we've had pet rats--start handling them at the fuzzy stage, and they become sweet and loving little things. Very smart and social--great pets.

I still hate having to take care of rats, but it's part of breeding ball pythons. If it was just one rat, it wouldn't be so bad...

[Ryu]

what is an 'ASF'? just wondering..

[Michelle.C]

what is an 'ASF'? just wondering..

African Soft Furred Rats are a species of rodent that originates from Africa. People say they smell less and that picky eaters seem to accept them more readily. I disliked them because they tend to be nippy and in my experience, some of those little suckers can jump like crazy.

I prefer Norway Rats.

[Chocolate Muffin's]

No offense but Rats stink too much for my taste...if they are so smart, why can't they find a bathtub...eeek yick!

[Ryu]

o ok cause i've seen the name all over the place and never saw anyone use the whole name. but yea i dont think ill be getting any of those then cause my boy hasnt refused a meal a single time yet. hell, last time i fed tom (my bp) he took his meal before i even set him down in front of 6 ppl hes never even seen before! (i put my snake in a seperate cage to feed)

[4theSNAKElady]

I bred ASFs and Mice...
i honestly hate rats...

but I think ASFs and Mice are freakin' adorable.
BUT, im not into them as pets... just breeders i occasionally handle.

Funny, cause I actually honestly hate mice, and think ASFs are ugly.....but I love rats!

I have a "pet" now, whom I got as a feeder, and the thing literally jumped out of two snake's tubs, and I spent two mornings trying to catch him, cause I couldn't catch him the night before. I had to take him with me to work one morning cause I was runnin so late, and when everybody at work saw him, they refused to let him be snake food. I set him up a tub, and now "Templeton" sits on my shoulders, licks me, and lives like a king, with frequent offerings of nutter butter cookie bites, popcorn, french fries, cheese balls, pieces of chicken sammiches, cereal, bagels with cream cheese and the like. Loves to be petted, and even cool lookin', with a glossy salt-n-pepper coat.

[WingedWolfPsion]

No offense but Rats stink too much for my taste...if they are so smart, why can't they find a bathtub...eeek yick!

Because you have them in a cage, and didn't give them one...

Rats are exceptionally fastidious animals, actually--like cats, they're always grooming and cleaning themselves. People rarely clean rodent cages more than once a week. It's not the rat that stinks, it's the soiled bedding, and that is the owner's fault...not the rat's.

A rat kept in an exceptionally clean environment doesn't stink, has soft fur, and is always tidy, lol.