Quote Originally Posted by Praomys View Post
Uploaded photo depicts a relatively healthy looking ASF to the left and sickly one to the right. Yes I get that the one to the right is dead, but still, it looks shabby. Does it? and did it before it got dead? There's only so much we can infer from a photo, but in my experience (I've produced 83 ASF's so far as of this morning) unhealthier specimens get dead one way or another - and no I'm not talking about feeding them off. There's a reason why they have Hugenormous litters = only the stronger ones are designed to survive.

Judging by the size of the lab blocks, the cage in the photo = a mouse sized breeder cage. Go with a ten gallon tank sized surface area or larger for a trio. We use these for trios: http://www.reptilebasics.com/R10

Also, you wrote that you, "acquired a 1.2 last night." So, you did not produce this trio yourself, and you have no idea of the background of this trio? or do you? I can tell you that they are not like Norway rats. No way. If I were to take 2 unrelated adult females and 1 adult male and toss them together overnight... the morning is gonna = 1 dead female, no doubt. I'm not saying it's like this all the time and for everybody, I'm just saying that I learned my lesson the hard way. I don't mix adults anymore, not even in a feeder grow-out tank. I only mix ASF's that are ~1month old, not any older than that. I'm not saying that's the only way it can be done, but I certainly do believe it is the safest, and I always like to err on the side of caution to play it safe.

Lastly, who got dead? a female? do you have a pair? if so you can still get on with breeding.



Guys (and gals) try this: put blocks on one side and a high protein dog food on the other and watch which one gets gobbled up. ASF's are much more carnivorous than Norways. Just look at their daggers for teeth LOL - and when (not if but WHEN) you get bitten you will know their dental equipment is way sharper than Norways = carnivorous.

Days without water? Really? You're pushing your luck. They have been known to kill each other just to drink the blood. See the archives on this forum, particularly threads where Mikey Cavanaugh has chimed in. He is without a doubt the most learned & knowledgeable ASF breeder to have posted on this forum, or on any other forum for that matter. I wish he were still with us.

Finally, I can't comment on pine shavings, but pine pellets are the bee's knees. We use this stuff: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...-bedding-40-lb
dirt cheap and with ASF's being nearly odor-free and consolidating their poop & piss to corners of the enclosures (they CAN control their bowels/piss, unlike Norways & mice which are disgusting filthy animals) a 1" layer is good for 1month on trios.



Are you treating Praomys natalensis aka Mastomys natalensis the same as Rattus norvegicus ? Would you treat Python regius as you would Boa constrictor ? asking for trouble. They are very, VERY different.
That's actually the exact cage I'm using XD. I did have the dead female before it died. It was last alive around 1am EST and was probably dead around before 7am which is when I wake up. I did not breed them myself but acquired them from the local reptile specialty shop. I recently learned that they do not breed them themselves actually but tend to get shipments every once and a while and "maintain" them till they are sold or cull and freeze them. They're all from the same colony originally I assume. And yeah, I changed my husbandry a little. I gave them more things to play with, made a little feed bowl and am now supplementing with superworms as recommended by the reptile shop. I also added a 0.3 to the cage this afternoon to no ill effect either. So right now I have a 1.4 of i guess subadult asf rats and they seem to be doing just fine. I've been monitoring them on and off for the bast 6-7 hoursish and no aggression that I have noticed. I plan on separating 0.2 of the females when one drops a litter and holding back one of those males.