OMG... ASFs are magic!!

[Lolo76]

As some of you might know, my girl Nerissa was fasting for over 9 months... I got her as an adult last October, and she literally had NEVER eaten for me. Her former owner said live ASFs usually snap her out of a fast, but those are illegal here - so I kept trying with both live & f/t mice and rats. Then while visiting San Diego this week, I picked up a bag of frozen ASFs from a pet shop (remembered seeing them there previously). Wasn't sure if frozen would do the trick, but she took it almost immediately! I am seriously in shock.

I only gave her one small ASF, since I didn't want her to regurgitate after such a long fast... plus there's a good chance she's gravid, and I know gravid females shouldn't eat much (if anything). Now that she's officially broken her fast, do you think she'll ever take mice and/or rats? I'm not sure I could find a local supplier of frozen ASFs, and ordering them for one snake would get expensive & tiring. As much as I love Nerissa, I'd have to re-home her (somewhere outside of CA) if that were the case. Guess I'll just finish off what's left, which will last another month if I keep giving her one - or should I offer two next week? Anyway, I just wanted to share the good news, since I was REALLY worried about this gal!

P.S. She looks very content now, resting under a sheet of newspaper... I swear she smiled at me when I peeked in.

[chris4554]

Congrats on getting her to eat!

Why are live ASFs illegal there?

[Lolo76]

Congrats on getting her to eat!

Why are live ASFs illegal there?

Thanks! From what I've heard, they are illegal because our climate mimics their native environment... so if they were released into the wild, we could have an overabundance of ASFs running free. If I remember correctly, that's also why hedgehogs, gerbils and ferrets are illegal here. Of course, I think they're only considering certain climates in California - it's a huge state, and San Francisco (where I live) can't be anything like Africa weather-wise.

[Lolo76]

Btw, people at the shop in San Diego suggested talking with East Bay Vivarium (in Berkeley) about a local frozen ASF supplier... I don't want to speculate on where they originally come from, but there must be somebody around here with access. I really don't want to get rid of this snake, so I'm determined to find a solution!

[llovelace]

I have an adult girl that I picked up last July, she went off feed until April of this yeah (so yeah about 9 months), she finally took an asf then 2, after 3 successful feeds, I offered a sm rat, she nailed it. Now she will eat what ever I throw in her tub, live or f/t.

[Lolo76]

I have an adult girl that I picked up last July, she went off feed until April of this yeah (so yeah about 9 months), she finally took an asf then 2, after 3 successful feeds, I offered a sm rat, she nailed it. Now she will eat what ever I throw in her tub, live or f/t.

Good to hear! I hope she'll take rats/mice eventually, because I totally don't want to deal with getting ASFs... and she's just too sweet to give away.

[mainbutter]

@Chris: They're illegal in cali because cali likes to make things illegal, especially with regards to animals.

[Oxylepy]

@Chris: They're illegal in cali because cali likes to make things illegal, especially with regards to animals.

Yup. Its ridiculous.

[dc4teg]

buy a large bag of asf's and a large bag of similar sized rats and maybe put all the frozen in one bag and i think they could still gain a little of the sent.... I dont know... never had to deal with the problem but

[Jason Bowden]

Congrats on getting her to eat!

I'm now very iffy about buying or taking in adult ball pythons. I've had to deal with a situation like that with a pair of adults last year. They will still only take small live mice. Good luck getting a female big enough to breed on mice. I hope my female will make it this year.

Didn't know ASF's were illegal in some states. No offense, but in many ways, California is just weird.