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Problem with ASF's not breeding! I need advice..

SnakeEyesExotics

SnakeEyesExotics

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I have a rack system set up with ASF's, but for the life of me cannot get the darn things to produce! I have approx 16 trios set up, each 1.2 in their own tub, and I literally have one litter of babies right now. :angry:

We feed a mixture of dry dog food, horse feed (grain/pellet mixture), and sunflower seeds. The rats and mice are producing better than ever, but the ASF's can't seem to get with the program. Room temp is about 76-77. Fresh water is always available via an automatic water system. Bedding is a pine/hardwood shavings blend. Room has a window to allow natural light to come in.

Does anybody have any advice on how to make these darn things reproduce?? :confused:

Thanks!
Anya
 
How old are your ASF's ?
Maybe they are just reaching sexual maturity and that one litter is the first of many.

One thing I found with them is that you can not pull pregos and then throw the females back in a different tub after the babies are weaned.
The females in the tub that you introduce her to, will jump her and often kill her.

Also, they seem to mate for life.
Meaning, if you have a tub going and the male dies, you can't just throw another breeder male in with the femlaes.
They will usually jump him, and kill him.

I ran mine in 1.5 groups, and if a male died, I would take out all of the offspring in that tub, and put pinks from another tub in there.
The females that were nursing, will adopt the pinks and then they are "made."
Just leave one of those males in the tub, and the females will allow him to breed them when he is ready.
 
The simple answer could be in your tubs. I had a couple ASF colonies going like gangbusters in 10-gallon tanks with exercise wheels until I decided to put them in racks. Then, not only did I have to monitor them closely to ensure they didn't chew out of the racks, but all breeding activity ceased. Kaput. 3-4 months, and nothing.

So I moved them into unlidded 70-gallon rubbermaid containers, which was supposed to be a temporary fix while I set up their 10-gallons again. Lo and behold, they loved the containers, and started being active and producing again. They seem to need activity on a higher level than other rodents, and they LOVE wheels. I'd try moving them into a larger setup and tossing in a wheel before tweaking anything else.

Also, it is true that you really can't remove and reintroduce ASFs - they will almost always try to kill each other. Swapping out pinks is the best solution.

Good luck! :thumbsup:
 
Some of the ASF's are about a year old, and the rest are 3-4 months old. I noticed that the older ones get really big. At first I thought they were pregnant, but I am now convinced that they are just fat. Is that normal? The one litter I do have is from a younger pair though. The tubs in the rack system I use are approx 10"x18", so they are close in size to a 10 gallon tank.

When we first started breeding the ASF's a little over a year ago, they did pretty well and they were producing good numbers regularly. They were housed in the same rack and everything. Not much has changed since then though aside from the extra ingredients in their feed mix.

Could the bigger ones just be too old?

Also, I have heard that the dominant female will kill any other female's babies, and that the ASF's need to be housed in pairs for this reason. Is that correct at all?

Thank you for the help!
 
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