# African soft furred rats?



## abmama (Aug 2, 2011)

So I know that they are often used as snake food but I would like to know if they are much different from reg fancy rats as pets?


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

they are actually called multimammate mice (mastomys). they are not at all rats... so they are much much different. you cannot put them together with standard rats, but i know people have had success pairing females with standard mice.  they have not been domesticated very long (they're usually sold as food) so they tend to be skittish and/or aggressive.


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## abmama (Aug 2, 2011)

Jaguar said:


> they are actually called multimammate mice (mastomys). they are not at all rats... so they are much much different. you cannot put them together with standard rats, but i know people have had success pairing females with standard mice.  they have not been domesticated very long (they're usually sold as food) so they tend to be skittish and/or aggressive.


thank you ! I was trying to find info on them bc a lady was selling them as snake food but all i could find was info about them being snake food lol


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I have a lovely natal girl who is unlike most of them, she is handleable, and very sweet (actually rat-like). She lives with 2 girly mice


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## Snippet (Dec 30, 2010)

All I know about them is that they tend to be more of a pet to watch then one that you can handle.


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

If they can live with mice it might be nice to put a female ASF with a mouse buck so he doesn't have to live alone. Has anyone done this?
I always feel sorry for the bucks, having to live alone.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

ratjes said:


> If they can live with mice it might be nice to put a female ASF with a mouse buck so he doesn't have to live alone. Has anyone done this?
> I always feel sorry for the bucks, having to live alone.


yes I think its a great idea...you can use either sex as they cannot breed.
I was looking for a little boy mouse for my mini, for some reason I was told girl natals cannot live with girl mice... *duh*


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## wheeljack (Mar 17, 2011)

lilspaz68 said:


> ratjes said:
> 
> 
> > If they can live with mice it might be nice to put a female ASF with a mouse buck so he doesn't have to live alone. Has anyone done this?
> ...


How odd. I had my last female mouse live with some natals after all of her cage mates died. The natals are generally in more danger from the mice than vice versa.

OP, to answer your question they are more like mice. They can range from downright vicious to acting like socialized mice--but realistically since they have never been bred for temperament you have a better chance of getting a biter than not.

I've raised ASF's for years and they actually seem more of a social animal to me than rats and mice. I 'personally' wouldn't consider keeping anything less than 3-4 same sex ASF's if you can avoid it. There is a huge difference in behavior from even keeping them in pairs to keeping 4 of them. They are much happier in a larger group. I would respectfully ask you to reconsider getting just one as a companion for your mouse. If you can swing it, 3-4 ASF's would be good with your mouse (if the mouse will accept them)

They are easy enough to breed the aggression out of, but not many people do it so don't expect to be able to carry them around like you do your rats. They also do better living in a large aquarium with a deep substrate so they can tunnel then they do in a wire cage, they are amazing jumpers and equally amazing chewers so don't even think about putting anything plastic in their enclosure unless you want it destroyed.

They are adorable little guys and are fun to watch when you have a group of them.


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## abmama (Aug 2, 2011)

I do not have mice , i have rats which was why i was asking about them bc someone was selling them and I wanted to know if they were compatible with normal rats, since I now know they are not like rats I am no longer interested in purchasing them lol i love my rats i'll stick to them


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