Sometimes they are intentionally aggressive, although this seems to wane as the group ages. Even removing the male for just a day and trying to reintroduce him will result in the male being attacked and possibly killed by the females. By sharing this story, I wish to give others hope and courage in overcoming their life challenges. I suggest buying a very young animal from a breeder who knows that their animals are not as likely to bite as other breeders colonies, and when you get these animals, get the same sex so you never breed them. African Soft Fur Rats: Do They Make Good Pets. They are almost a light bluish gray color when young. Unfortunately, Metal Monkey Exotics no longer keeps or breeds ASF rats! Each female has a litter every 4-5 weeks, and if you have 2 or 3 females, thats the very real possibility of having 32-54 rats born every 4-5 weeks, that need to be grown up for a little over a month just to reach a common feeding size. They eat just as much as a domestic rat the same size, and also have the incredible ability to chew out of enclosures if not made secure enough or given enough space. I can always tell the difference in the litters as to what is albino [Amber?] So far, it would seem that the tumors develop after 9 -12months of age, although not, The tumor development can be very fast and spontaneous. The rats chewed off the paint on a few of them, and in those tubs the wire of the wheel rusted pretty easily and one of them developed sores on the bottom of his paws. After the female has given birth, she will go into heat a few hours later and will be impregnated again. This means youre raising a LOT of rats, and the majority of your tubs will be holding tubs. Natal Rats or Soft-Furred Rats - ramshornstudio.com We recommend caution if housing male ASF with female mice as they are much larger and the risk of them unintentionally injuring a smaller female mouse is higher. Touch those rascals all over and get them used to your hand. They are, however, utterly adorable. OR, you could create a new group from the animals you already own. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. Induction of epidermal tumor growth in the skin of Mastomys natalensis by transfer of virus-containing tumor tissue from a squamous cell carcinoma So you might be wondering why Alberta would stress so much about being rat free, then be ok with African Soft Fur Rats. In particular the main female Eeyore is a total cow. I completely understand her reaction because at the end of the day she was caring for 30 plus babies which I one day come along and take away from her. The Website Is Run And Managed By A Community Of Enthusiasts Informative About Pets. Praomys Natalensis African Soft Furred Rats are quickly becoming a favorite as feeders for small to medium sized snakes, birds of prey, and carnivorous lizards and amphibians. Still trying to figure out my rats, I tried keeping females . My point is, to me, they honestly smell just terrible. They are predominantly seen in Sub-Saharan Africa. they do not smell bad almost at all.. compare then to a rat or a mouse.. these are so much cleaner.. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. , Some say I am hyper sensitive to the odor. What vegetables can African soft fur rats eat? http://mouse-agility.com/asfrats.htm, If you would like to find ASFs near your area, this webpage has a small current listing of ASF breeders. The Best Cages for Keeping Pet Rats: Ranked and Reviewed, See a Gator Bite an Electric Eel With 860 Volts, See Dominator The Largest Crocodile In The World, And As Big As A Rhino, Discover the Largest Sea-Dwelling Crocodile Ever Found (Bigger than a Great White!). http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/bjdr/abstract.00002300-2 It actually seems that most of my snakes prefer regular rats. African soft furreds are used as minimally as a snake food mainly for the picky eaters. In my house, the ASF cleaning takes the longest, and here is the reason why, ASF hoppers bolt around the cage avoiding being caught by me. Just make you have at least two, Q: How often do you clean your rats? Adopting or buying an African soft fur rat is easy. They get wood shavings, food, water, and the company of their colony mates. http://www.freewebs.com/abcexotics/multimammatemice.htm, Batwrangler.net (a small listing of personal blogs, a great source of technical information) 1. This is because a baby African soft fur rat can easily go through bar spacing. These rodents are usually bred to be fed to ball pythons and other reptiles. They are also illegal to own in many states (like in GA where I live). http://www.springerlink.com/content/pw8826314054212w/, Julia Nafz, Anja Khler, Myriam Ohnesorge, Ingo Nindl, Eggert Stockfleth and Frank Rsl Rats have been outlawed in Alberta since the 1950s. I cant reiterate this enough. When I clean their tubs, and the pee corner they use the most is scraped away, THAT right there is what I smell from them all the time, and it can make me nauseous. If you keep these animals as pets, they need food and water at all times. For a group of 1.3, the smallest amount of space I personally give is approx the same floor space as a ten gallon tank, or a 56 qt plastic tub. They get sexual maturity between 2-3 months. AFRMA - Beginners' Corner - Legal Species of Rodents in California Well send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out. However, this case is not the same with African soft fur rats. Cohabiting Mice & ASF - Rocky Point Rattery The interactions go like this: My girls squeak and go hide in a corner trying to avoid him. Whereas siblings were made from the same parents, they both carry more of the same genes from both the mother and father alike. It is recommended that a male mouse be housed with no fewer than two female ASF. Is that normal? And they get along with each other very well. Secondly, these rats are primarily raised to be sold as food for reptile owners. ManfredReinacher, HermannMller, WolfgangThiel and RolandL.Rudolph However, as far as African Soft Fur Rats go, are they legal in Alberta? ;D. You aren't planning on moving out of state anytime soon are you (or it isn't a likely possibility)? They do have that strong maternal instinct to protect their young, but I think shell quickly drop the biting tendency with no pups to protect and daily positive interaction. Thanks for the comment Leslie, its good to hear people are working towards creating a pet friendly African Soft Furred! I no longer offer all of these extras to my ASF rats. Originally from Africa. I think this is roughly 17 x 12 square inches. Re: where do you get your african soft fur rats. I've noticed with my collection that the more I interact with them, the less they are leaping and bounding from me when I pull their tub out for cleaning. They continued to go on with their lives. This makes them happy and healthy. They ovulate every four days and give birth to a new litter every three to four weeks. If you keep them all together with a pinch or two of the old bedding, they are more likely to stay put. When picked up, they would try to jump straight off my hand without even batting an eye. I used to give my rats untreated wood blocks. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. African Soft Fur Rats | AK Morphs LLC These rodents are primarily omnivores and feed on mealworms, vegetables, and seeds. When bathed, they lose some natural oils from their body that save them from external infections. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'oxfordpets_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_9',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-oxfordpets_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0'); Welcome To The Oxford Family! This Exotic Pet Is Legal in Your State - PetHelpful If you take their wheels away, initially they are highly stressed and destructive. Line breeding is when the parent animal is bred back to its offspring. They sexually mature between 2-3 months. If you just want to replace an aging rat from a group, leave a youngster of the same sex in with the colony, and remove the rat you want to replace. here We have a comprehensive guide on African Soft Fur Rat: Care, Info and Factsif(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'oxfordpets_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_8',139,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-oxfordpets_com-medrectangle-4-0'); The cage you chose for your African soft fur rat is highly important for their well-beingness. I love African Soft furs for two reasons: No smell and they are CUTE! The fact that the Norway Rat (Also known as the brown rat) is in the genus of Rattus, and the African Soft Fur Rat is in the genus of Mastomys, makes them different enough in the eyes of the Alberta Provincial Government to make one legal, and one illegal. In short, for some people, the odor from ASFs is not as offensive as it is for others, but they do have an odor. Many would say no, but they do smell, and anyone who says differently either does not have a keen sense of smell, or does not have more than one or two groups. http://mouse-agility.com/asfrats.htm. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. You will likely find one day that your starting group is getting old, or is not producing the numbers you need. Moreover, wire cages are very easy to clean. Litter Size: 3-17; average is 9-12 per litter. The heads usually have a characteristic Eye brows pattern, and some symmetrical spots or stripes on the cheeks or side of the face. A: Add additional protein to your ASFs diet, and make sure you have water available 24/7, A: Sure thing! I have gone through quite a few wheels for these buggers, and the only ones we have available in local pet shops are the powder coated (painted) metal wire wheels. These rats are social mammals and depend on their pack or colony for entertainment, grooming, support, and companionship. Mazuri Mouse Breeder; Kent Rodent Diet; Rodent bedding. . When feeding live, always monitor to make sure the animal is not harmed by the rat. Common brands of feed for ASFs include Harlan Teklad, Mazuri, LabDiet, Zeigler and Kent rodent feeds. As with Norway rats, the males tend to be more relaxed, where the females are more high energy and stress easily. Come drive down and load up your trunk. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. JavaScript is disabled. , For more reading on keeping ASFs as pets, please visit the following link. When you first start working with them, you may notice they hold completely still and close their eyes. Notably, this species has long, soft, silky fur, which leads to the name. Clean out that soiled tub, washing is always a superb idea for cleanliness, and repeat steps 1 4 with the rest. Ifeel that the margin of error is too large to promote with good conscience regardless of the condoning by the AVMA. I raise the african rats and sell them as pets, I have had no problems with them being nasty or aggresive or nervous. So now you have a group that no longer needs to be producing for whatever reason, or you want to completely swap members. Yes, they are known to bite so it is best to maintain a distance while observing them. The litter consisted of the lighter Cinnamons and Rubys (difficult to tell apart when very young), a couple of Ambers, and one Agouti. However, you also need things that entertain them. It's common for first time moms. ASFs are prone to spontaneous, fast growing warty tumors. They can be fed any vegetables, including carrots or beans. The tumors can be seen in the vaginal region as a clustered mass, along the tail as bumps, on the back and hind quarters as warty black growths, or on the face of the animal. For example, a metal running wheel is ideal for them to run on and release excess energy. Northern Luzon giant cloud rodents are considered to be the largest rat in the world, weighing 5.7 lb (2.6 kg). Sometimes these animals have white jaws and necks, but the white on the jaw does not connect to the white on the head spot except by the tip of the nose. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jean.wright93/mm/mm.htm, Thames Valley Rodents As the name suggests, these rats are native to Africa. I would have to do some more breeding to see if that works out in my colonies, because at the moment, I believe I have an all Agouti group that had both the light colored cinnamon/rubys (so hard to tell apart when young), and Ambers. On sale below $1390! No, they cannot be placed with fancy rats. However, a 20 x 10 x 12 long space will not be enough for more than a year.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'oxfordpets_com-box-4','ezslot_3',117,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-oxfordpets_com-box-4-0'); Glass aquariums or tanks have their pros and cons. Live feeder rats. (aka african soft furred rat) states they should be fed a hamster/gerbil seed mix. Their face is relatively small compared to their body with a small nose and two eyes. I don't want any issues. View pictures. http://dels.nas.edu/ilar_n/ilarjourn1Unusual.shtml, KlausWayss, DenisReyes-Mayes and ManfredVolm How do you take care of African soft fur rats? A: 70 - 72 degrees has worked best for us, Q: Why did my first litter get eaten?