ASF's - what's the big deal?

This is a serious question. I keep hearing about ASF's (African Soft-Furred Rats?), but don't know anything about them.
Are they supposed to be the next best thing to regular rats for feeding?
Is the soft fur better for digesting? If so, why not breed hairless rats?
Are they better for finicky feeders?
Help me out here--I'm about to get back into breeding my own feeders and am curious as to whether I should breed hairless, ASF, regular or all of the above.
Any answers will be greatly appreciated.

From personal experience, I have found that ASF have MUCH less smell than regular rats or mice. They have larger litters and even though they take longer to grow, it's very much worth the little extra effort.
They are not very docile but they are BP's natural food so they tend to like them. I have heard that once a BP gets 'impressioned' with ASF they will not eat other prey, though I have not had that problem. The hair is a bit softer but I have not seen a difference in digestion. I could be wrong but I thought snakes needed hair to AID in digestion.
Hope this helps

they are the natural prey items for ball pythons in africa.

They are pretty much ball python crack. And theyre cute.

Thanks for your responses!
I've never heard anything of the hair helping to aid in digesting, but that doesn't mean anything other than I've never heard it. Here I was thinking that hairless rats would be better because of the lack of fur.
Ok, so if ASF's are bp "crack" as you put it, Moo, do they have a different impact on the bps growth, or would you say they are the ultimate answer for the picky eater?
Has anyone had their bps started on ASF's & been unable to change them over to regular rats?
Or, conversely, has anyone been feeding regular rats, switched to ASF's & successfully been able to go back & forth between the 2?

Originally Posted by Tiger Lilly

Thanks for your responses!
I've never heard anything of the hair helping to aid in digesting, but that doesn't mean anything other than I've never heard it. Here I was thinking that hairless rats would be better because of the lack of fur.
Ok, so if ASF's are bp "crack" as you put it, Moo, do they have a different impact on the bps growth, or would you say they are the ultimate answer for the picky eater?
Has anyone had their bps started on ASF's & been unable to change them over to regular rats?
Or, conversely, has anyone been feeding regular rats, switched to ASF's & successfully been able to go back & forth between the 2?

i never feed constantly the same prey ( ill feed the same stuff usually, but its never definite), so i cant say as to the growth being affected or not... but i feed my animals ASFs, Rats, Mice, Gerbils and Hamsters and they all take * for the most part, some of my critters have better responses to certain prey* ... whatever, whenever i offer. If i get 10 hamsters and then, the next week 10 rats ( or whatever amount) it never seems to make a difference.

Originally Posted by Mooing Tricycle

i never feed constantly the same prey ( ill feed the same stuff usually, but its never definite), so i cant say as to the growth being affected or not... but i feed my animals ASFs, Rats, Mice, Gerbils and Hamsters and they all take * for the most part, some of my critters have better responses to certain prey* ... whatever, whenever i offer. If i get 10 hamsters and then, the next week 10 rats ( or whatever amount) it never seems to make a difference.

I'll second that! Minus the hamsters.

Back when I was breeding my own feeders I bred some ASF's. In my opinion they aren't worth the hassle. They like to chew their way out so you'll need something metal to keep them in. They grow realllly slow and they like to bite. I've switched back and forth between rats, mice, asf's with no ill effects. I tried them on problem feeders with some success but mice seem to work as well. All in all, I think they're more hassle than they're worth.

Thanks again, for all your responses! I think I'll just stick with the mice & rats when I start breeding them again. I guess if I have any problem feeders, I can always use Seamus' KFC trick!

I think one of the biggest issues one can run into with feeding ASF is that if that is what they are used to eating, they may be difficult to switch over to rats....and since ASF are not readily available to the average public, it isn't necessarily a wise idea to feed them exclusively.

I've used them on babies that have been reluctant to eat for the first time, and a couple of really picky eaters, but try not to leave them eating them for any length of time. Once the start eating, I try to switch them to rats right away.

I never really had any issues with them being as bitey as some say...but then like with anything, it may depend on the "lines" you get them from. If I ran into bitey ones, they were food, not breeders.

I found it worthwhile to keep just a few on hand, myself.

Thanks Cat--I haven't had any problem feeders, thank goodness, but I know I have at least one gravid female that looks like she's about ready to pop. Since this is my 1st crack at breeding, I wanted to be prepared & check out the ASF's. Like I said, though, I think I'll just stick with the regular mice & rats. Never had any problem breeding them!
Thanks again to everyone that put their 2 cents in; I appreciate the input.