# My little african soft fur rats!



## maplexcutie22

So I realise they aren't really rats, but I cannot find a forum for them so I guess this is close enough! 

I got them last week, and they are pretty interesting so far. They are very timid, but neither has fought being handled or tried to bite. I have them in a bin cage right now, but I have my old Rat Manor all set up for them when they are big enough. (Right now I think they would fit through the bars). 

I am doing my best to find information on them, they aren't very popular pets, mostly used as feeders, but they are definitely worth trying to tame. They are very cute and curious so far. They are on Oxbow Regal rat, Blue Buffalo cat food and some Hazel Hamster seed right now. They love millet treats and veggies. 

Here they are!








This is Meredith.







And this is Cristina. 

They were the only two at the petstore, or I would've gotten more, since they do better in groups, and if one of these happened to pass away the other would be alone. That being said, the petstore can order more, young ones such as these, but does anyone know if they can be introduced? I would hate to get a couple more and them not get along. But also i've heard of them living mice? So surely they can be introduced to their own kind if everyone is young? 

Anyways, anyone else have these guys?

I used to have 4 male rats, Reid, Jack, Zane and Owen. Reid and Jack (brothers) Both died of cancer, a month apart, and then Owen died of respiratory issues he had his entire life and meds just weren't helping anymore. Then I had Zane put down because he was miserable alone, he was having issues walking, and he was getting put under anesthesia every other week to clip his teeth since they were misaligned suddenly most likely due to a jaw fracture. I've missed having rats very much, but just don't have the time or space for them, since they are so social and need to be handled daily, with almost daily cleaning, and a huge cage, I figure these guys might be similar, but require less space and minimal handling. I actually wanted mice, but saw these guys and had to have them.


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## RattusMaximus

Gosh, those are so cute? What are african soft furred rats? Where can you find them-I've never seen them at a pet store near here? How do you take care of them?

As you can see, I want them!


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## maplexcutie22

They are very cute, I know! I saw them the first time when I bought these. I had never even heard of them, so when I saw them I quickly did a quick search to see how hard they are to care for and bought them minutes later. Most people breed them for snakes, so they generally aren't very tame, but my girls are pretty sweet, they are still babies though so who knows. They love to chew, and eat, and they love their wheel. They seem happy in their bin cage, but I have this rat manor laying around so I figure once they are bigger I will move them in that, since they love climbing too, and why not give them a mansion? Apparently they are escape artists though so I am definitely waiting until they are too big to fit through the bars. They get about the size of gerbils, so they stay pretty small.


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## AdequateRat

Suuuper adorable!!!


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## Fraido

Very a-d'awehh-able. :3


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## Korra

Yours are quite young and cute  Mine are illegal here in my state but someone accidentally brought them to a local reptile convention and I bought his last feeder. Her name is Lily. She has pieces missing out of her ear and is not all that tame but just recently started taking food out of my hand. 
I obtained her to live with my two year old male mouse Bengal a few months ago and they get along amazing. However, when Bengal passes, Lily will be going to live with Momo(my female mouse) and Dallas(her neutered son).


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## FallDeere

ASFs! Yay! <3 I LOVE them, though I haven't had any yet. Soon I hope. ^_^ I'm getting mice first to decide if I like having rodents that small and since ASFs can live with mice, I'll get them not too far in the future after I get settled with my mice. So glad to see ASF owners here. They're so cool.


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## artgecko

I only know of people that keep / breed them as feeders, but from what I've heard, a couple things to keep in mind:
1. They can chew through very hard things...supposedly even hardware cloth, so just be mindful to check their cage often for chew holes.
2. They are very colony territorial.. Typically they will kill any newcomer or even one of their own that has been removed for a while and then reintroduced. Supposedly this even applies to babies that have been taken from a colony and then attempted to reintroduce or a male that has been removed and then put back in. I'm not sure if keeping in pairs will change that behavior or not, but just be prepared that if you do try to introduce new ASF to yours, it might not end so well.

They are also on the lacey act, so can't *legally* be transported across state lines (that comes with a felony charge if caught) and they are illegal in many states.. Like mine (GA) unfortunately. 

They look cool and I know of a guy that has been working with his to breed different color varieties like BEW. I wish they weren't illegal in my state, or I'd have them.


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## FallDeere

What I've read is that they're most territorial when they have babies (they are VERY protective of their young), but otherwise aren't _too _difficult to introduce to each other. I'm on two ASF facebook groups and watch the ASF section on a snake forum. I could be wrong about that, but it's the impression I've gotten. Same sex groups seem to be "friendlier" to newcomers than family/breeding colonies.

There is someone in Virginia who has been breeding ASFs for seven or so years for temperament and has had great progress in that. One of the facebook group's goals is to work towards them being as common pets as rats.


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## AdequateRat

I read that they were extremely timid and don't make very good pets. Is that incorrect? I so hope that's incorrect... I want some. Errmerrgerrd!


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## FallDeere

Well, it depends on what makes a "good pet" in your opinion (everyone wants something different in a pet). If you get good ones to start with and work hard on socialization, I think they are probably equivalent to a pet mouse or gerbil. I've seen extremely sweet ones thanks to good socialization. There is someone on youtube that has hers trained to do tricks, but she is in Europe which seems to have ASFs with better temperaments in general than here.

ASFs have a bad reputation for being biters and I've heard that some are just "born mean" and no amount of socialization can fix that. I don't know how true that is, but I can believe that without careful breeding for temperament, taming certain ones is probably extremely difficult if not nearly impossible. It is best to get some from a breeder that takes temperament into account.

I think if all you want out of them is a "watching pet" then they're probably great no matter how "mean" they are. They seem very active and fun to watch. This morning I was watching a video of a baby one popcorning, lol. So cute. <3

Again, though, this is all from my research. The only experience I've had with them in real life is seeing them at a feed store and at the house of the breeder I got Pooka from. I've been researching them as much as I can for a while now, though. A year, maybe two, because I do want some eventually. There's just not a lot of info about them as pets because they are mainly feeders. Soon, though, I think they will be more popular as pets. Rats and mice originally became pets due to similar circumstances, after all!


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## AdequateRat

Thanks for the response! I'm more into the cuddle buddies.. Maybe when my mischief reduces (sad face) I'll do some more research and maybe by then there will be more breeders in regards to ASFs. :3


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## FallDeere

Some can be cuddly but best not to expect it with them.  Maybe by the time you consider getting them, their temperament will be improved even more!


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## AdequateRat

FallDeere said:


> Some can be cuddly but best not to expect it with them.  Maybe by the time you consider getting them, their temperament will be improved even more!


Yeah, for sure! I hope soo. Haha. I have enough to deal with anyway. My 8 boys are definitely a handful.


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## artgecko

I hope you're right about the same sex groups taking intros better. I've just read loads of horror stories about them killing babies and other colony members upon reintroduction... But this is from a snake forum. Good luck with them!


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## FallDeere

Rhasputin on the snake forum I think you're referring to (fairly certain I saw you on it) is the one I am getting that information from (I think; I could be confusing sources since I've read so much lol). Though, their ASFs have been carefully selected for temperament, so it may vary.


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## maplexcutie22

I've definitely heard that they are worse whe kept in breeding colonies, but with just 2 females they seem to be doing well. They take food from me now, sit in my hand, let me pet their cheeks and they even come out into the open when I take the top off the cage, instead of hiding away. I haven't been bitten yet (And hope not too, ive never been bitten by a rodent, and I grew up having hamsters and gerbils.) and they don't seem too afraid of me, not like when I first brought them home. 

I don't think I will take the chance of introducing new ones, I just wish they were with more than 2 at the store because I know they prefer bigger groups and I'm just scared of one dying early and the other being left alone. But hopefully they will be good. Also i am hoping they will enjoy their new rat Manor in a few weeks when they are bigger. I am checking this plastic bin daily for holes, but they havent chewed much yet, on anything. The rat manor is all metal though so that will be safe once they cant fir through the bars. It will be so huge to them too.


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## FallDeere

What about getting them two mouse friends?  I was told when asking what way to group mice and ASFs that one of the safest/best ways is female mice with female ASFs. That way you don't have to track down more ASFs nor introduce more ASFs. Since they're young, introductions shouldn't be difficult at all as long as you get the right mice.


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## maplexcutie22

So female mice? Or would a male mouse be a better idea? I am just terrified of a blood bath. Perhaps if I get the youngest mice I can? Since these guys are pretty young/. I feel like if i get adult mice it would be a bit harder than babies. That would be awesome though because I really wanted mice, I had been planning to get some but when I saw these guys I got them instead.


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## maplexcutie22

I took these today. I hand fed some treats and pet them. Maybe if I do house mice with them, the mice will make them even more accepting? Because mice are usually very social!


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## FallDeere

Such cuteness... can't handle... _wants_. O.O 

I think you could go either way: group of female mice or a single male. I would get young, though, around their same size. I'm pretty sure at their age, a blood bath won't happen. Yours are itty babies. The first pictures look barely old enough to be away from momma. I don't think their territorial-ness would kick in for a few weeks, so if you introduce them now, you _shouldn't_ have an issue. This is all conjuncture, though, as I don't have actual experience with ASFs (or even mice yet). I'd hate to push you to do something and then it go wrong. I just personally really feel they're too young for a bloodbath to happen as long as you get friends that are the same age.

I don't think housing them with mice will make then more accepting; they just need lots of socialization. They're not super easy to tame, but since you got them so young, you should have good success as long as you interact with them every day. 

*Again, the caveat of: I've never had ASFs or mice. This is all what I've garnered from reading. I don't recommend just taking my word for anything. Research is your best friend, even if there really isn't much to find on ASFs as pets. I can recommend an ASF Facebook group if you want to ask people there questions. Someone there might even know a breeder near you to get more ASF friends from.*


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## maplexcutie22

Thanks! They are very young, they are tiny and everything I read say they grow very quick so they can't be too old. So I'm hoping getting some young mice would be best. The place I got these girls from sells feeder mice, all ages so I think that would be my best bet. Since most places that sell them as pets around here only sell them older. I'll go within the week and look to see about getting a couple young girls. I have always wanted mice and I want these guys to be happy and comfortable in a larger group so if this works out then that would be great. And for some reason if it doesn't, it's not like I can't house them separate. Hopefully they all get along great though.


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## FallDeere

Best of luck! I'm really excited to hear how everything works out and I hope you continue to share pictures.  I really really love seeing mice and ASFs so I squeed in excitement when I first saw your thread. ^_^

Just be very careful about insuring all the mice you get are female. I've heard several stories recently of people bringing home a pair of "females" from stores only to find one was male.  Twice it happened to one family, in fact. -sigh- Apparently young mice are tricky to be sure which sex they are. Going with a breeder may be safer, even if they are a tad older. As long as they are below eight weeks (and 4-6 weeks is the typical age breeders sell), they should be good.  Either way should work out fine as long as you're vigilant, though. I just worry after everything I read about accidentally getting both males and females. 

Thankfully, even if you do accidentally get a male, they can't breed with ASFs, only other mice, so he wouldn't have to live alone. ^_^

ASFs and mice are awesome!  So glad to find people here that have them/are getting them.


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## erinsweeney

You bought them after doing only minutes of research? This should end well...


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## maplexcutie22

Well considering there isn't much information out there on them, those few minutes I looked into them is when I learned the most. 

And after thinking a little more into it, I don't have a lot of free time right now, and I feel like if I added mice I would need to watch them a lot to make sure there is no fighting going on, which I don't have too much time for. And since it is my first time keeping them I don't know if I want to try to mix species yet. I wish there were more asfs when I got these two, since I would've taken more. But they were the last two. So I think I'm just going to stick with these girls for a while and if one of them passes away early then I could get a young mouse or two. Looking more into it it seems the mice are the ones that pose a threat to the asfs. 

And I panicked a little last night cause I was looking at them hanging on the wire on the side and it almost looked like one was a boy. They don't look exactly the same but one doesn't look like a boy either? They are still young so I'm going to wait till they get a bit older and keep checking, but hopefully I have girls xD


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## FallDeere

Yeah it really only takes a few minutes to read most of the main information on ASFs, especially if you go to this one website that covers the basics. I've learned more from forums and such but that info really wasn't as important as the main things I too learned in a short time of research. Also, she went in wanting mice and their care is very similar. There is no need for such negativity on this thread. She's doing everything right by her new little friends and it will work out fine... And if it doesn't, it won't be due to lack of research.

Anyways, I think you have a good plan.  They should be fine as a pair for now. Just keep an eye out for any major bullying or anything like that. I read that mice are best in trio's because they may bully each other if there are only two. As long as they seem happy though, you should be good.


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## AdequateRat

It's all a part of the learning experience, anyway!

I'd rather have an in-experienced owner who's willing to learn and at least do SOME research than to do nothing at all..


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## maplexcutie22

I would never get an animal that I am not prepared for. Honestly the only thing I needed to buy for these guys was the water bottle, a toy and the bin. I have tons of wheels, bowls, bedding, hides, really everything for rodents. I am not new to owning rodents at all, just these guys. At the moment my family has 3 dogs, 2 cats, 3 rabbits, 5 birds, a leopard gecko, hedgehog, 3 hamsters, tons of fish, 3 fire belly roads and now these guys. The hedgie, 1 dog, leopard gecko, toads, 1 hamster, 1 rabbit, fish tanks and these guys are solely mine. They all receive the care they need and are very spoiled. I think these little guys have everything they need, as if I've been planning on them for months! 

And I'm not too worried about them fighting, they are still young but they are always cuddling and together. Plus once in the rat manor they will have lots of space! Way more than they need tbh. xD

But yeah don't worry these guys are in good hands.


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## AdequateRat

maplexcutie22 said:


> I would never get an animal that I am not prepared for. Honestly the only thing I needed to buy for these guys was the water bottle, a toy and the bin. I have tons of wheels, bowls, bedding, hides, really everything for rodents. I am not new to owning rodents at all, just these guys. At the moment my family has 3 dogs, 2 cats, 3 rabbits, 5 birds, a leopard gecko, hedgehog, 3 hamsters, tons of fish, 3 fire belly roads and now these guys. The hedgie, 1 dog, leopard gecko, toads, 1 hamster, 1 rabbit, fish tanks and these guys are solely mine. They all receive the care they need and are very spoiled. I think these little guys have everything they need, as if I've been planning on them for months!
> 
> And I'm not too worried about them fighting, they are still young but they are always cuddling and together. Plus once in the rat manor they will have lots of space! Way more than they need tbh. xD
> 
> But yeah don't worry these guys are in good hands.



I trust you <3


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## FallDeere

maplexcutie22 said:


> But yeah don't worry these guys are in good hands.


I know they are. ^_^ I'm so glad you stumbled across them that day! They're lucky to have such a smart, dedicated owner. I just know they're going to thrive with you taking care of them.


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## maplexcutie22

Thanks guys!  

I will definitely continue to update about then as they get older, and when they move into their mansion xD I have it all lined with cute girly elephant fleece (When I had my rats, they were all male so I wouldnt dare use girly fleece, which made me sad, but since my hedgie is a girl and uses fleece I have so many cute girly patterns!) and there are two wheels, a couple different food dishes, several toys and hides. They arent going to now what to do with themselves lol


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## maplexcutie22

More pictures. 













Little Meredith begging for treats. And then Meredith eating some millet while Cristina takes a nap on the wheel. They dont run on it, they sleep or climb on it. First they would only sleep in this hide that is fully enclosed, probably since it felt more safe. But then they started sleeping in their little edible log, and now they pile onto the wheel, which is where they have slept the past two days. Strange little critters.

(The wheel is so horribly taped because it was being super loud and holding the two sides together better was the only way to keep it quiet)


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## FallDeere

Such cuties! Looking forward to watching them grow.


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## maplexcutie22

These girls aren't shy at all anymore. They never hide from me, sleep out in the open and every time I take the lid of the bin they run over to me and smell all over my hands to see if I have any goodies. 

Here they are munching on their breakfast, half a baby carrot each. This shows how little they are, thatsa normal sized baby carrot, in half. Its the size of them xD



















Meredith is on the wheel and Cristina is on the floor. Ignore the poops by Cris. Gross.


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## FallDeere

So tiny and adorable! I'm glad to hear they're not shy.  You're doing so well with them!


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## AdequateRat

Oh my goodness, they are SOOOOO Cute!


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## maplexcutie22

They don't even blink anymore when I lower my phone into the cage and shove it in their face for pictures xD The first day I had them it was so hard to get pictures ebacuse any movement or putting my phone near them made them hide! I am very glad I got them, I was a bit worried since I heard how aggressive they are but these girls are just curious and sweet.


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## JCM

Aw! I love ASF's!
There is a pet store near me that sells them occasionally... might have to look into getting some....
(Your girls are precious, by the way)


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## RattusMaximus

Even though I prefer more personable pets (like rats, lol), those are just so cute!


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## Millie & Daisy

I just died of cuteness. THEY ARE SO ADORABLE.


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## FallDeere

I had a wonderful dream that I was able to get a small group of ASFs... I blame this thread. I sometimes just come to look at the adorable pictures. <3 I hope things are still goin well!


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## CleverRat

I saw someone on Craigslist that was selling them near me. I think he was breeding feeders. I don't know anything about them but they are adorable!


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## maplexcutie22

The girls are still doing well. They have been sleeping a lot lately. I hardly see them during the day anymore. I hear them on the wheel at night though. They are finally running on it instead of chewing it. They still tolerate petting, still don't like to be held. They have yet to try and bite me, which is great. Hopefully they will be moving into the Rat Manor soon, since they are bigger. I will try to get updated pictures this week!


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## FallDeere

How are the girls doing these days?


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## lost_whisper

They look a bit strange...I absolutely love them. They are like little alien rats.


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## maplexcutie22

They are doing well! They still dont like to be held, which I dont mind, but they dont mind being pet. When I open the cage doors to clean or feed they stay away but are very curious to see what I am doing. Thye haven't tried to bite or anything, even when I try to pick them up. 

They are also super fun to watch. Its getting hard to tell them apart though, since they are growing the white patches are evening out! They love the hammock I recent put in the cage, and they also love the huge PVC pipe ive put in. It used to be for my hedgie, but she hasnt been using it so i replaced it with a few new toys. I also have a few bird toys and perches hanging around which they love to chew and climb on. They are so fun to watch!





















They are messy, as in they love to throw their food and bedding all over the cage. Poop too. But they do not smell at all. Which is awesome since my room is filled with animals, but it also makes me forget to clean the cage a lot since it smells so clean! xD Its super simple to keep these guys clean though. I just shake of their tiny little poops from the fleece and put it in the wash. Then spot clean the bedding every few days, since they mostly go on the fleece, the bedding stays pretty clean. They eat a ton though. And they love fresh foods and baby food is a favorite treat. Millet is still their absolute favorite though.


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## FallDeere

I'm glad they're doing well!  They're looking good. <3

I actually have a few ASFs now as well. I'll post a thread about them later. Man, these are awesome little rodents.


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## lost_whisper

How are they? I want new pictures if possible, haha


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## FallDeere

Yessssssssssssssssssss. More pictures!

I sadly lost mine in a tragic accident, so for now I must live vicariously through others' ASFs. In the short time I had mine, however, I came to love the species almost more than our beloved Fancy Rats. They were so fun to watch and were beginning to allow me to hold and pet them. They are wonderful little creatures and I actually plan to keep them as my "main" pet down the road, once my rats have passed.

I highly recommend ASFs as pets to the adventurous (and experienced) rodent keeper. They're a challenge, but so worth every ounce of work put into them. <3


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## maplexcutie22

Heres a couple pictures of the girls. Its 11am so they are fast asleep. They used to sleep in their igloo during the day, but the past couple days they have been sleeping on the side of their hammock! Super cute. When they are sleepy they are much easier to pet since they just lay there. They are so so soft. They also have a huge stash of food in their hammock!


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## Fu-Inle

Are they actually a species of rat, or are they mice?


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## maplexcutie22

I think they are mice. Not positive though.


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## maplexcutie22

The girls this morning. They have no decided to sleep in their little pail with a piece of fabric.


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## FallDeere

Neither, actually. At least, not related to the mice or rats we keep as pets at all other than being rodents. They are called both mice and rats, but bear no relation to Brown Rats (the rats we have) or house mice (the mice kept as pets). At least, that is my understanding. They are a completely different species of rodent.

Your girls are so cute!


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## Rat Daddy

In general, there are actually many species of rat or mouse like rodents. All tend to raise their young, but some are social animals while others are more or less solitary animals. Common wisdom has it that the social ones are more likely to bond with humans... and therefore make better "pets" or rather are likely to make better companion type animals. But to some degree the jury is still out on many species. Often there are other considerations that come into play such as dietary or climate or space requirements or even temperament issues that make certain rodents poor pets.

I've seen photos of black eyed white black rats raised in captivity and there was even a green morph. Early in the fancy black rats were stiff competition to the brown rat in the hearts and minds of rat lovers. Then they "mysteriously" evaporated from the fancy. Now 100 years later, there is a renewed interest and one proved itself a very successful true shoulder rat for a while. It was found in a barn, was hand raised by a human, traveled around with her and when he grew up, he slipped out a window at night and rejoined his rat "family" in the barn. I've been told he still secretly drops in through the window at night to visit his human mom, but doesn't hang out with humans any more. Other folks have had some success with various wood rats and some folks even keep "nutria rats" (huge aquatic rodent) and pouched rats.

Just because something is called a mouse or a rat doesn't mean it's genetically closely related to other mice or rats... Chimps and humans are both primates, but aren't very closely related for example. There are certain similarities, but mentally and emotionally we may actually be more compatible with rats or dogs than we are with chimps in terms of living together and sharing a home.

The African soft fur rat seems to have found a niche in the pet reptile food chain, so I'm guessing it's relatively easy to care for and prolific. That may guarantee that it hangs around for a while. So far it hasn't yet made giant inroads into the rat fancy in general. It's going to be interesting to see how it does in the future. It's going to be hard to displace our brown rats from their place in our hearts, but as people learn more about raising and socializing them and as selective breeding is likely to influence their personality towards the more social side that may change.

Sadly, the rat (as pets) fancy doesn't have a stable economic engine and it's novelty driven. To make things worse environmental laws tend to go against importing foreign and potentially invasive rodent species as well as keeping wild caught specimens. There was a time when the Gambian pouched rat had potential, but is now little more than a footnote in the US fancy. Black rats were nearly as likely to become our pet rats as brown rats once and at one point squirrels were not uncommon pets... The term squirrel cage fan is still in common usage and I've seen photos of antique squirrel cages, but we hardly ever see many squirrels as pets now. Actually my mom had one back in the 1950's that she raised and set loose in the yard, it came inside every day to keep here company and share her breakfast until she moved.

I don't see any big issues with what genus or species a "rat" belongs to, every few years science reclassifies dozens of animals due to advances in genetics anyway. It's great that we are getting threads on the African soft fur rat to add to our knowledge base. These might be the foundation for their future or not... only time will tell.

Thanks for keeping us updated.


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## FallDeere

Rat Daddy said:


> It's going to be hard to displace our brown rats from their place in our hearts, but as people learn more about raising and socializing them and as selective breeding is likely to influence their personality towards the more social side that may change.


ASFs aren't meant to displace brown rats. They are nothing like brown rats and don't offer what brown rats do as pets. They are much more like keeping pet mice or gerbils. In my view, mice, gerbils, and ASFs are rather interchangeable as pets, offering basically the same things to their owner (fun to watch, small, low maintenance, can be interactive when bred and socialized well), depending on that person's preferences. I don't count hamsters among that group because I've never had one, so can't speak for what they offer. Rats offer cuddles, kisses, and love with little work needed to socialize them (typically). ASFs, or Softies as I like to call them, will be a good choice for people looking for a small, fun to watch, low maintenance pet once they are more popular in the pet trade. They will never displace brown rats.

I do prefer them over mice and gerbils, though. lol. Once I'm able, I'm going to have a colony of Softies in the hugest, most complex homemade cage/tank I can give them. However, they won't replace Fancy Rats for me.

I don't normally do this, but for those interested in keeping Softies as pets, this Facebook group is for you: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ASFGeneticsandBreeding/ It has lots of people who have been keeping ASFs for years and are working on making them more domesticated. The people there are very nice and helpful. There's even a person whose ASFs ride on her shoulder, though you have to join the group to see. I highly recommend checking out that group if you're interested in seeing and learning about ASFs. They make wonderful pets for the right people.


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## Rat Daddy

That really is an interesting point... that ASF's would compete more with mice and smaller rodents than rats... I believe that the dwarf hamsters are in that market too although I've never had one... 

I'm not sure if that's better or worse for them though. Although there does appear to be a larger demand for the smaller rodents, it's getting to be a pretty crowded space. And ASF's come with the "rat" surname which might deter some folks not into rats and mislead others hoping for a more interactive animal friend.

I spent much of my life in the tropical fish world, and I've seen so many wonderful species and morphs come and go like the flavor of the month. In the end the pet industry is such a novelty driven one that it's hard for the staple animals to survive even when there's a solid profit model for them. Honestly, if it wasn't for the reptile food market and labs we might not even have a rat fancy today. I know that's hard to recall and even to admit, but the next furry little critter fad is just around the corner... I do think ASF's are interesting and cute and I hope they have a future.

And by the way, a few dog breeds just crossed my mind that I haven't seen in a few years either, it really does make me wonder what drives people to adopt the pets they do... other than the novelty of having something no one else has or perhaps wanting what everyone else has...

Small animals are likely to grow in popularity as it's getting harder to keep larger ones in a more urban world, but the competition is getting stiffer with every new species and morph that gets introduced.


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## maplexcutie22

There's the girls eating their dinner!  I'll try to upload a picture or two every few months for you guys who are still interested in them!


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