African Soft Furred Rats/Natal Rats

[NightmareWolfie1]

I have two girlies housed with my female mouse colony.
They do fantastic with mice and it actualy calms them quite a bit.
They aren't too big on being held, but will hold stil for scritches and the ocassional taste of my fingers.
They are actually quite tameable as long as they are never bred and are handled.
They eat the same thing as my mice, and are housed in a twenty gallon with a wire mesh top.
I hate it when I see eople saying how untameable they are.
They are actually about the same as the average mouse.
Your kids are gorgeous!

[Topaz]

I've heard about people housing them with mice.  That's interesting!  I dunno if I'd want to do that with my own kids as I like having them all separated.

We went into a really crummy pet store the other day and they had 2 female bright oragnish colored ASFRs.  I had to do everything I could to not leave with them...they were for sell as pets at $11 each. 

[eveliens]

I wouldn't have put them together on my own. I've also heard of people putting ASFs with domestic rats... that would not end well in my house.

At least they were for sale as pets.

My girl has taken to nipping my fingers through the bars (thinking they're food). She hasn't gotten me yet but I'm trying to break the habit before she gets me good.

[coffee bean]

They are too adorable.  I wish I knew of a breeder nearby!

[nevadamoon]

I have 3 boys.  No idea on age, but they're getting big enough that soon I'll be moving them from their bin cage into a tank.    (Unless I can manage to build my own cage for them, or convince someone else to.     )   Really, I want them in something that will give them more room, (Even though they don't seem to mind what they're in now) and that will let me be able to watch them easier.

They don't -really- have names.  I can tell them apart, but they don't really have specific names.  All I can easily grab in order to clean the cage, and i've never been bitten.  One of them is pretty social, he likes to come up to me and get pets so I'm fairly optimistic that someday he'll be a pretty cool guy.  The other 2 are just a bit more withdrawn, but come out pretty fast during food-time.

 

These were all 3 when I first got them. (The big one is the one that's the most social.)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2552395555_0ae5b52f94_b.jpg



Exploring a monstrosity I built.

Them now:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/2575834275_3ddeed099a_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3267/2602216376_9ee276db53_b.jpg
(That's the one that was originally one of the smaller mostly-agouti ones.  He has freckles on his butt, while the other is more solid.)

[Topaz]

They're so cute!!  You know, bird cages work very well for them, too 

I need to get pictures of my new soft furs. I have some almost solids.  Two are solid but with huge head spots.  What's funny is that my solid female and solid male have the same personality - attention starved.  They do the same thing Degus do when getting scritches on the head.  They lean in, turn their head so you scritch their cheeks, then life their heads so you rub their chins, then hop away gleefully.  It's hilarious!

[nevadamoon]

Oo, I do have a spare bird cage right now since finishing the aviary, but I'm a little worried they could slip out.  Based on the past adventures of freckle-butt (Oh, you remember when he had to be fished out of the dashboard of a car..) I don't want to take chances.  

Yours sound adorable!  I didn't sneak a peak at them when they were over here, as I was a bit paranoid they'd escape and start a colony in my house.  (Gee, wonder who planted that idea in my head, too...)  I hope mine get to be that sweet with some work! :3  The 2 besides the mostly-friendly one used to be super-skittish- I'd only see them when cleaning the cage- but now they've gotten pretty curious about "The hand that brings yummystuff".  I do wish they were a bit more handleable, but they're such cute little guys.

[Topaz]

My male soft furs are in a wire hamster cage, and the smallest is about the size of the guy we fished out of the car dashboard, to give you an idea.

It's small, but only until I get their new cage made.  Just gives you an idea of the bar spacing.  I had my 3 young females in a budgie cage for a month and had no escapes.  It just depends on the wire spacing.

Edited due to pic probs.

[nevadamoon]

I'm not really planning on any little ones/more anytime soon (But that may happen, especially if you end up making some pretty sweet ones..) so bar spacing isn't a huge issue.  My boys are pretty big now, I think even bigger then my girl mouse.  May look into putting them in the bird cage, but I don't think the one I have free is all that much larger then the tub they're in.  So I'll probably just wait until I get a lid or another tank.. with a lid. (Or once Quinn is done with her bubs, I'll have that nice 40L free....)

[Topaz]

It'll be a few more months before any bubs come to town, but I'm very optimistic.  With the ones I have, I wouldn't doubt if their domestication is right around the corner (relatively speaking.)

[nevadamoon]

Oh, I'm not in a rush.    Just when you do have some that are friendly, I'll probably want to snag a pair.    Mine really don't seem any less domesticated then mice, but maybe they just haven't started  biting me yet?  we'll see.

[eveliens]

Wow Topaz, sounds like you've got a colony going.

I was cleaning cages this evening and had the male out. He just melted into my hand and let me pet him. My goodness, he's big! I remember when he was the size of a bumblebee and now he's as big as my hand. The female did a nose dive off my arm and is lucky my dogs don't trigger to movement.

Eventually when I'm in a more stable position, I'd like to get a big finch cage and have a whole set of the little buggers. Mine absolutely love to climb. After having rats, I'm absolutely amazed at how healthy they are (and my mice... and the hamster...).

[eveliens]

Boyo:


Girlie and her b/f Bob:


And because people seem to want to know their adult size, here is my adult male SFR with an adult female rat and an adult male rat. Sorry, not enough hands to handle them side by side and work the camera too! (this is not Boyo's permenant cage; I had him out checking out his boy parts, which he enjoyed  , they seem to be just discolored, phew):