Father and son, or fraternal relationships seem to not have the same intolerance. http://www.springerlink.com/content/lg3430177178j132/, J. Nafz, M. Ohnesorge, E. Stockfleth, F. Rsl and I. Nindl Breeding ASFs | Metal Monkey Exotics It is also possible to house ASFs in a rack, however I do not have any first hand knowledge of extended periods housing them like this. An African soft-furred rat is 4.7 in (12 cm) in length, which is five times bigger than the smallest rodent in the world, the pygmy jerboa which measures 1.6 in (4 cm). Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. This is not healthy for ALL small pets! One thing I also found fascinating is that the weenlings if left in the cage help take care of the new babies. (Example: Prevue Hamster Wheels 7 are made of Nickel and will not rust), Nervous System/ Muscle weakness (possibly hereditary). If you keep them alone, they may become depressed. Imiquimod treatment of papilloma virus and DMBA /TPA-induced cutaneous skin cancer in Mastomys coucha: an unique animal model system useful for preclinical studies Lastly, owing to their wild instincts, they can be aggressive, nervous, or excited. They ovulate every four days and give birth to a new litter every three to four weeks. ManfredReinacher, HermannMller, WolfgangThiel and RolandL.Rudolph Come join the discussion about breeds, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more! Localization of papillomavirus and virus-specific antigens in the skin of tumor-bearing Mastomys natalensis (GRA Giessen) Wire cages give good ventilation, huge space to climb, and great opportunities to provide hanging toys. You can house ASFs in a cage, aquarium, or chew proof bins. These animals will chew whatever you give them. Rats have been outlawed in Alberta since the 1950s. Natal Rats or Soft-Furred Rats - RAMS HORN STUDIO They are widely used in the scientific community to study diseases that are also common to man, like degenerative joint disease, renal disease and carcinoid tumors of the stomach. Fun African Soft-furred Rat Facts For Kids | Kidadl Since they are still commonly referred to as Mastomys Natalensis, be sure to use both search terms when trying to find information about these animals. The Truth about Breeding ASF Rats (African Soft Furs) - YouTube Interesting! Adult Weight: Males: 100- 130g; Females: 90-115g The eyes do appear to be a dark brown color, almost black. I use pine pellet and pine flake shavings for their bedding to help with the potential of odor, but so far I haven't had that ghastly smell you can get with other rodents. Besides bitingASFs can JUMP. Thank you for the information! This is most common in southern and western states of the US. Will decrease with age. 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. They also appear to both be a simple recessive. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content. 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! . They are omnivorous animals and eat mealworms, veggies, and fruits. African soft fur rats are omnivores and eat seeds, veggies, and mealworms. African soft fur rats make good pets. The litter consisted of the lighter Cinnamons and Rubys (difficult to tell apart when very young), a couple of Ambers, and one Agouti. These rats will reach an average weight of approximately 2.1 ounces, and their fur varies between yellow, brown, and grey. The females will kill him upon reintroduction. M. myboys2 . They are a royal pain because they depend on humans for their own survival, which means they dig in our garbage, ruin crops, spread disease and more. They breed prolifically. I, of course, immediately named them, Gabbagoo, Cherry and Ginger. Brandon is the master behind my fantastic quality of ASFs because they all came from him! Reply Quote. These little guys are also. There are more than 60 species of rats in the world and the African soft-furred rat is a member of this family. It is also the most important reservoir of Lassa fever virus.[3]. African Soft Fur Rats Care Sheet Facts 101 - Oxford Pets African soft fur rats breed extremely fast, and female rats (or does, as they are also known) can produce a litter every three to four weeks. Ive had one female that within days developed fast growing tumors all over her body, under the skin and on the skin surface. No, they have little to no smell. Sexual Maturity: 54-63 days. The Kidadl Team is made up of people from different walks of life, from different families and backgrounds, each with unique experiences and nuggets of wisdom to share with you. African Soft Furs. But, they will typically avoid urban areas as they cannot compete with larger, more aggressive rodents like the black rat. http://vir.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/41/2/315, K.Wayss, E.Amtmann, G.Frstenberger, G.Sauer and M.Volm As Mentioned above African soft for rats are different than the main most common rat that causes a nuisance. The African soft fur rat is capable of being raised as a pet and being tamed as well. I know that he was from a different source than the two original females I purchased. African Soft-fur Care What are ASF? Q: Why do I keep finding half eaten' babies? It is likely there will be a non-agouti (no yellow banding) animal found and reported someday, if not already known by a select few. Moreover, 3 African soft fur rats per colony is a good choice. The best part about owning and breeding ASFs is they produce very little smell! My local shelter has three "mice" up for adoption. The white spotting can leave a small cape near the base of the neck covering the shoulder blades or can be as little as to touch just the base of the tail with some spots of white. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Unfortunately, Metal Monkey Exotics no longer keeps or breeds ASF rats! 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. I no longer offer all of these extras to my ASF rats. Moreover, you can also pick the best bedding for burrowing. Great Lakes Rodent - Live and Frozen Feeder Rodents - Michigan I bred specifically a Cinnamon Pied female to a Ruby Eyed Self male (pictured above). One guy told me some of his rats have 15-20 babies. 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. http://www.biomedexperts.com/Abstracnship_of_a_rod, Rudolph R, Mller H Since each parent animal is homozygous for its trait, we should have gotten all Cinnamons or Rubys to prove it was the same gene. Moreover, they can also consume squash and pumpkin. many people have been using an unmedicated hog feed in their colonies. Chemical carcinogenesis by the two-stage protocol in the skin of Mastomys natalensis (Muridae) using topical initiation with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and topical promotion with 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate Still trying to figure out my rats, I tried keeping females . Every time they get brave enough to come towards him he immediately tries to hump them and they run away again. They dont smell as bad as Mice or Domestic Rats. They use them like its their reason for living. When raised in captivity, some rats are known to communicate to humans via grunts or squeaks. Sometimes it is also known as a Natal multimammate rat. However, these rats also inhabit human settlements. 5. [1] The Natal multimammate rat is the natural host of the Lassa fever virus. Hence, here is everything you must know before having an African Soft Fur Rat. Smith Creek Hardwood Shavings; Great Lakes is all about . Because these rodents breed quickly, reptile breeders and owners use them as a food source. If youve heard about these animals, you would probably have been told a few key things about them. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. Mar 31, 2016. These pups are 4 weeks old and approx 20 grams. The eyes are a rich pink color. I did interact with them daily to keep them used to me, but I didnt bother to hold them like a pet rat anymore. http://www.batwrangler.net/multimammate/ (no longer available), Ken-ichi Mafune, Kaiyo Takubo Neither should you feed these rats with candy, avocado, or fruit peels. Save Share. http://asfrats.info (no longer available), Russell Tofts Article on ASFs (A good read, although may be outdated.) The Website Is Run And Managed By A Community Of Enthusiasts Informative About Pets. They never attempted to bite me (in the first few weeks), but they did pee on me quite a bit while I handled them. This rodent type lives in packs so they will become depressed if they live alone. As with Norway rats, the males tend to be more relaxed, where the females are more high energy and stress easily. Since Im not sure if their teeth grow exceptionally fast, its still a good idea to give them something to chew to prevent problems and ultimately starvation and death. I have a much larger colony now and I have not witnessed any babies being eaten except for one that got sick and a few days later I saw the mother eating it. , For more reading on keeping ASFs as pets, please visit the following link. 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. The African Soft Fur Rat (Natal multimammate rat) can make a good short term pet as they only live a few years, but most people raise them to feed snakes. It is different than the Ruby Eyed gene, but can be incredibly hard to tell the difference from a Ruby eyed unless eyes are very bright red. Line breeding and inbreeding are two ways to expand the number of animals you work with. I had the opportunity to buy a group of these amazing little rats back in the end of March 08. Inbreeding is when the siblings are bred to each other. Eyes are black, ears are pigmented dark. This back to back breeding does not seem inherently detrimental to the females health or future litter sizes. http://vir.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/88/10/2670, Iris Helfrich, Min Chen, Rainer Schmidt, Gerhard Frstenberger, Annette Kopp-Schneider, David Trick, Hermann-Josef Grne, Harald zur Hausen, and Frank Rsl A: YES! Other objects you can give them for entertainment include paper towel tubes, hammocks bought from a pet store, or cardboard boxes. Their small adult size compared to the Norway rat makes them ideal to keep, because they are often the perfect feeding size for months and will not outgrow the feeding limits for most carnivores like a Norway rat will. They need access to water and food all the time in captivity. The porbeagle is one of the few sharks that jumps out of the water. From reading various papers, the warty and ulcer like tumors known as keratoacanthomas and squamous carcinomas, are associated with a papillomavirus (MnPV). When cleaning a glass aquarium, you should allow sufficient time for it to dry, as this will help prevent bacterial growth that can cause your pets to become sick. I plan on adopting them. where do you get your african soft fur rats - Ball-Pythons.net Or, it might be due to their environment and lack of suitable food sources. The best way I can describe the problem is that the rats extend their legs at the hip joint, splayed straight out sideways instead of underneath them to walk. Therefore, there is no need to supply heat additionally. A glass aquarium or tank is a potential house for African soft fur rats. It has come time to socialize them and so far it is not going well. The white spotting gene has variable strength. There are a few breeders that have managed to breed rats that are tamer, but they are . Regardless of how many animals you need to feed weekly, I will recommend that most people start out with a group of one just weaned male and two females (1.2). They make excellent feeder animals, where the few limitations are outweighed by the benefits in regards to space, odor, and production reliability. This gene seems to quite variable in strength, as some have very little of a head spot or stripe, while other animals can have a very strong and wide head stripe. I give them old toilet paper and paper towel rolls. Many states in the US found it appropriate to ban the ownership of these rats based on this and other facts associated with Praomys Natalensis. Female African soft fur rats cannot breed with male fancy mice. African soft furred rats are an easy species to breed, with many benefits for breeders. As the name suggests, these rats are native to Africa. A page for fans of the African Soft Fur Rats, also known as AFS's, African Soft Fur mice, Multimammates, & Multi mice. African Soft Fur Rats: Do They Make Good Pets. When you first start working with them, you may notice they hold completely still and close their eyes. Or instructions on how to tell? While I used to see these claims around the reptile forums, they are not odorless. 602 likes. het and normal. Some people call Ambers Albinos, and some people call the white spotted Pieds. They can live with mice. Press J to jump to the feed. I discovered a disease in my colony. While there is debate that ASFs are the cure-all for non-feeding ball pythons (out of my 40+ snakes, very few will regularly take ASFs at every meal), they are a really good size for a ball python and other animals that need whole prey animals. 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. It takes a little over a month for them to grow to the traditional feeding size of 40-60 grams. Adult male mice can and will fight to the death if housed together. ive heard it might be very difficult to introduce male asf rats that arent related. They are considered a good quality source of protein for raising healthy reptiles. African Soft-furred Information and Exchange (No longer available), If you would like to find ASFs near your area, this webpage has a small current listing of ASF breeders. I no longer needed them to produce and put him into an empty spare maternity tub. They will also make use of fruits and vegetables, timothy hay, dog treats, and whole grain products, although the latter should be given as a simple treat and not a steadfast source of food. African Soft-fur Care (910) 547-6249Call or Text Home About Us Rats Rat Care Guide Our Girls Our Boys Nursery Past Litters 2022 Past Litters 2021 Past Litters 2020 Planned Litters Rat Colors & Markings Safe/Unsafe Foods Mice Mice Care Guide Mouse Varieties Available Mice Past Litters Safe/Unsafe Foods Exotics Syrian Hamsters African Soft-furs Joking aside, weve put a lot of work into each piece, and want to remind everyone that if you like what we do here, please make a link back to this page, rather than infringing on copyrights. Yours seem to have a mix of panda and head spots. 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. It is a simple recessive gene. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. They are almost a light bluish gray color when young. They are multimammate mammals as they have eight to 12 mammary glands. ASF and mice will do everything together - eating, sleeping, grooming, and playing - just like they would with a member of their own species.. Medium rats; Large rats; Jumbo rats; African Soft Fur rats (ASF) Rabbit Products. Pets and Animals Sedan 1 $. Q: When should I retire a female? The ears are not pigmented, also being a light pink color. 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. They are very protective, and they are kept in harem groups continuously because they will kill any new rats introduced. I spent some time just observing these guys in their new home. Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed rat (, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natal_multimammate_mouse&oldid=1141881454, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Note: African soft furs cannot reproduce with a rat or mouse. They can be pretty tame, but they're not super friendly. This Exotic Pet Is Legal in Your State - PetHelpful View pictures. However, as far as African Soft Fur Rats go, are they legal in Alberta? It has great value for researchers who focused on stomach cancer and spontaneous tumors. Zentralbl Veterinarmed B. Persistence of Mastomys natalensis papillomavirus in multiple organs identifies novel targets for infection They can be fed any vegetables, including carrots or beans. They may also be referred to as Gremlin, though its a very uncommon name. This is the place where he will spend most of his time. (aka african soft furred rat) states they should be fed a hamster/gerbil seed mix. I purchased a group of one male pied, and two females, one female being an Amber, and the other a Cinnamon. subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, "A mitochondrial phylogeographic scenario for the most widespread African rodent, Mastomys natalensis". African soft fur rats are classified as a Least Concern species by the IUCN (International Union For Conservation Of Nature). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. This is because the parent will always have genes that its offspring does not have, since a parent gives one half of its genes, and the other parent gives the second half.