Might Breed ASF's, Few Questions First!

[maverickgtr]

So I've considered breeding ASF's for a while now since we have a sometimes picky eater and I've been looking into breeding our own mice/rats anyway just because it's cheaper than getting them from the pet stores around here. But I think ASF's would be better for our sometimes picky eater. I've read over the care sheet and just have a few more questions.

About how big of a tank will I need if I want to do a 1.4 colony? Will I need any heat lamps? Our apartment is about 65*-70* most of the time in the winter and around 75*-80* in the summer. But it never gets below 65* or I think I might freeze to death. In the care sheet it said they'd need temps between 70*-90*, is that ambient or do they need like a basking spot or do I have my head in the beardie forums too much?

I read they eat [and will play with] Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet and I'll probably need to make one of the dispensers I saw a sticky on how to make. How often do they need the bird seed and cat food? Is that just like a treat type of thing? How much do you offer? Do they need any other food as a supplement for the Rat and Mouse Diet?

Since I would be breeding I have a couple questions on that too... If ASF's don't like new ASF's in their colony, how to do introduce new blood into the line so it doesn't get too inbred? And do you take the babies away from the mom after a certain amount of time? How long or can the babies stay with the adults? Will the moms ween the babies or do they need to be weened by the keeper?

One last question, what's my best bet for finding ASF's? Texas allows them [I'm fairly certain...] but I haven't seen them at pet stores obviously. Am I going to have to find a breeder in my area, since I've heard shipping is difficult? To the mods, I'm not looking to buy or get any offers, just the best method, promise.

Sorry for all the questions I don't want to get a colony and then have problems...

[OhhWatALoser]

About how big of a tank will I need if I want to do a 1.4 colony?

I would say atleast the floor space for a 28q tub, bigger is better, these guys have alot of babies.

I have my head in the beardie forums too much? <-that, they do not need a heat lamp, you can live in it, so can they

I read they eat [and will play with] Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet and I'll probably need to make one of the dispensers I saw a sticky on how to make. How often do they need the bird seed and cat food? Is that just like a treat type of thing? How much do you offer? Do they need any other food as a supplement for the Rat and Mouse Diet? Your going to get a different answer from everyone, I personally fed them pure kent rodent diet, like all my rodents

Since I would be breeding I have a couple questions on that too... If ASF's don't like new ASF's in their colony, how to do introduce new blood into the line so it doesn't get too inbred? Good Luck, I havn't been able to figure that one out, i just inbreed the crap outta them, no bad effects yet And do you take the babies away from the mom after a certain amount of time? How long or can the babies stay with the adults? Will the moms ween the babies or do they need to be weened by the keeper? same as rats

One last question, what's my best bet for finding ASF's? Craigslist

Sorry for all the questions I don't want to get a colony and then have problems...

[maverickgtr]

Thank you that's quite helpful!

I've never bred rats before, hell I've never bred anything before. This would be my first foray into breeding so can I get you to elaborate on the breeding stuff a little more? Please and thank you?

[Rhasputin]

Inbreeding only causes problems, if the parent animals have problems.

Like, if both parents have a hereditary problem, then their offspring will likely have it. Breeding their offspring together, will make their offspring even more likely to have it. And so on and so forth.

Other than that, there should be no ill effects from inbreeding.

[anatess]

Just my opinion...

So I've considered breeding ASF's for a while now since we have a sometimes picky eater and I've been looking into breeding our own mice/rats anyway just because it's cheaper than getting them from the pet stores around here. But I think ASF's would be better for our sometimes picky eater. I've read over the care sheet and just have a few more questions.

About how big of a tank will I need if I want to do a 1.4 colony? Will I need any heat lamps? Our apartment is about 65*-70* most of the time in the winter and around 75*-80* in the summer. But it never gets below 65* or I think I might freeze to death. In the care sheet it said they'd need temps between 70*-90*, is that ambient or do they need like a basking spot or do I have my head in the beardie forums too much?

I read they eat [and will play with] Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet and I'll probably need to make one of the dispensers I saw a sticky on how to make. How often do they need the bird seed and cat food? Is that just like a treat type of thing? How much do you offer? Do they need any other food as a supplement for the Rat and Mouse Diet?

Since I would be breeding I have a couple questions on that too... If ASF's don't like new ASF's in their colony, how to do introduce new blood into the line so it doesn't get too inbred? And do you take the babies away from the mom after a certain amount of time? How long or can the babies stay with the adults? Will the moms ween the babies or do they need to be weened by the keeper?

One last question, what's my best bet for finding ASF's? Texas allows them [I'm fairly certain...] but I haven't seen them at pet stores obviously. Am I going to have to find a breeder in my area, since I've heard shipping is difficult? To the mods, I'm not looking to buy or get any offers, just the best method, promise.

Sorry for all the questions I don't want to get a colony and then have problems...

I suggest you do 2 sets of 1.2 instead. Put each set in their own 10-gal tank - it is easier to lug around and clean instead of anything bigger. Or use sterilite tubs (lots of instructions on the stickies).

They're mammals, so they don't need a heat lamp unless they're in freezing temps - I like what the poster above said - if you can live in it, they can too.

I've had ASFs since 2008. I feed them Mazuri 6F exclusively. It is designed to be a complete food for breeding rats. If you make one of those food hoppers that you hang onto the side of the tank, you just fill it up all the way, then fill it back up when it's empty - also if you see a lot of crumbs in the tank, wait a day or 2 before you fill it back up. My set-up uses Kiln-Dried Pine bedding, empty paper towel and tissue paper rolls (I collect those from neighbors as well), untreated wood chips, a water source, and the hopper (I have a rat rack). I used to have wheels when they were in a 10-gallon tank - there's just not enough room in the tank to get their extra energy out, and I find that I have lesser fights break out with the wheel in there. The rack I use now is a much bigger footprint (I use cement mixing tubs now) - so with the paper towel rolls they have a lot of space to run.

The reason why I suggest 1.2 (learned this from Mike Cavanaugh who I got my rats from) - is that the production numbers in Mike's years of research showed that this is the optimum combination. But, in addition to this, if one of the breeders have problems, you only end up feeding off 3 rats, instead of of 5. They fit in a 10-gallon tank that is easy to handle.

You can separate the juveniles from the colony when their eyes fully open - this is usually the time when they start to eat/drink on their own (about 3 weeks old). But you don't have to. They can stay with the colony for as long as you need them to - they mature between 3 and 4 months of age - so unless you want them to breed, you need to separate them by gender well before then. The breeding colony stays together the entire time - you don't need to take out the pregnant rat at all even after she delivers a litter. The 1.2 group will team up to care for all the litters. The mother usually delivers a litter every 3 weeks (average about 15 rats per litter), so unless you got a really big tank, you'll need to move out some rats every 3 weeks or so.

To introduce new blood, you get a hopper from a new line and form a 1.2 colony while they are still in the hopper age. You do this when you are cleaning the cage. You roll the new rat in the old bedding and then move him together with the 2 rats from the colony onto a freshly cleaned cage. They will form an established colony as they mature - expect a 3-month wait before the new colony starts producing.

Sorry, I can't help you with who to get ASFs from in Texas... yeah, check craigslist first, I guess.

Hope this helps.

[maverickgtr]

Thank you all! You've all been incredible helpful! I'm bookmarking this for reference with the caresheet!

Now just to make some comparisons and really think about breeding ASF's and talking to my boyfriend about it.