18 replies to this topic

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

So we are upgrading my hamsters cage and turns out his old one is the perfect size for African soft fur’s! So I have a few questions...

1. Is it okay if I get one African soft fur and one mouse? I don’t want accidental babies... and asf’s and mice can’t breed but I heard they get along great

2. Do I have to get 2 wheels, or can they share?

3. Do they eat mice & rat food?

Thats about it, please lmk!!

 

Edit: I think I may just get 1 male mouse or maybe 2 female mice, we’ll see

Edited by Whitewhiskers, 06 September 2020 - 01:23 PM.

[mrdinky&liv]

1. I dont know alot about rats but if you want to house multiple animals I would house two rats and not with a mouse.

2. If the two animals are well bonded and you dont see alot of fighting over the wheel I would say its okay to get 1 for them to share.

i dont know the answer with 3 but I hoped I helped! I would also do a little more reasech than just my answers! Goood Luck!! 

Edited by mrdinky&liv, 06 September 2020 - 12:49 PM.

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

1. I dont know alot about rats but if you want to house multiple animals I would house two rats and not with a mouse.

2. If the two animals are well bonded and you dont see alot of fighting over the wheel I would say its okay to get 1 for them to share.

i dont know the answer with 3 but I hoped I helped! I would also do a little more reasech than just my answers! Goood Luck!! 

African soft furs aren’t actually rats, they are a sub-species of mouse, and thank you!

[mrdinky&liv]

African soft furs aren’t actually rats, they are a sub-species of mouse, and thank you!

I'm sorry about mixing them up, I looked them up and alot of websites call them rats.

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

I'm sorry about mixing them up, I looked them up and alot of websites call them rats.

Yeah, they are called African soft fur rats because they look like rats, but they are a separate species, closer related to mice

[Robin~]

I could be totally wrong on this but I believe ASFs are illegal in some parts of the States or entirely? Not sure, I haven't looked into them too much and it's been a while since people have talked about them on the mouse forums I'm on but from what I remember there was some sort of legal issue which is why they aren't too common in the fancy any more.

 

Generally speaking, the main reason people get ASFs is so male mice can have friends without any issues with neutering, mating, or territoriality. It's pretty uncommon for someone to put, say, male ASFs with female mice. So, you would probably get a male mouse and 1-2 females.

 

In terms of wheels, mice/ASFs don't need wheels like hamsters; in fact they're entirely optional to begin with. You can start with one or two and adjust from there depending on how many of your mice/ASFs actually use their wheel (for example, I have two mice right now, but only one of them runs on her wheel at lot).

 

As for food, I'd assume you could just feed rat/mouse food to ASFs. Mice and rats have very similar nutritional requirements to begin with right down to the recommended GA.

 

Overall, though, I'd recommend posting this on Pet Mouse Fanciers. I believe there are a couple people with ASF experience on there or are at least more familiar with their care.

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

I could be totally wrong on this but I believe ASFs are illegal in some parts of the States or entirely? Not sure, I haven't looked into them too much and it's been a while since people have talked about them on the mouse forums I'm on but from what I remember there was some sort of legal issue which is why they aren't too common in the fancy any more.

 

Yeah, they still sell them where I am because I’ve seen them at pet stores

 

Generally speaking, the main reason people get ASFs is so male mice can have friends without any issues with neutering, mating, or territoriality. It's pretty uncommon for someone to put, say, male ASFs with female mice. So, you would probably get a male mouse and 1-2 females.

 

Yes, I am planning on getting a female mouse and a female ASF, but my mom doesn’t like keeping 2 together that can breed in case ones actually a boy   So that’s why I was thinking a mouse & ASF

 

In terms of wheels, mice/ASFs don't need wheels like hamsters; in fact they're entirely optional to begin with. You can start with one or two and adjust from there depending on how many of your mice/ASFs actually use their wheel (for example, I have two mice right now, but only one of them runs on her wheel at lot).

Oh okay, good to know!!

 

As for food, I'd assume you could just feed rat/mouse food to ASFs. Mice and rats have very similar nutritional requirements to begin with right down to the recommended GA.

Cool!

 

Overall, though, I'd recommend posting this on Pet Mouse Fanciers. I believe there are a couple people with ASF experience on there or are at least more familiar with their care.
 

Okay, I’ll see if I can join that

[Robin~]

Just keep in mind having an ASF with a mouse is more of a “better than nothing” solution. Getting a pair of female mice to begin with would be much better than trying to pair an ASF to a mouse.

Quite honestly, male mice are pretty obvious—as long as you buy ones that aren’t sold at an excessively young age their testes should be pretty easy to see. Especially if you’re going to a chain pet store I wouldn’t worry about missexing.

[lil BIG dwarf]

This has me curious-If you dont mind me interjecting, I was wondering, can they live in tanks like mice or tiered wire cages like rats?

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

This has me curious-If you dont mind me interjecting, I was wondering, can they live in tanks like mice or tiered wire cages like rats?

I think they can live in both, I was gonna keep em in a bin cage but they can even be kept in large crittertrails (from what I heard, could be wrong)

[daisy~]

All I know is, they are massive chewers so it's recommended to keep them in tanks rather than cages, including bin cages.

[lil BIG dwarf]

I think they can live in both, I was gonna keep em in a bin cage but they can even be kept in large crittertrails (from what I heard, could be wrong)

I dont think that would make sense-

 

A tank gives burrowing depth.

 

A wire cage has barely any burrowing depth, they could fall from the levels, and the reason rats cant be in tanks is that they need more ventilation. So ASF's need that to???

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

I dont think that would make sense-

 

A tank gives burrowing depth.

 

A wire cage has barely any burrowing depth, they could fall from the levels, and the reason rats cant be in tanks is that they need more ventilation. So ASF's need that to???

Agh I have no idea that’s why I’m asking   I can’t find anything about them online so I’m probably not gonna get any 

Edited by Whitewhiskers, 07 September 2020 - 08:04 AM.

[lil BIG dwarf]

Agh I have no idea that’s why I’m asking   I can’t find anything about them online so I’m probably not gonna get any 

I think I found a forum for them, but its on a restricted site and I use a school computer. Check it out-TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND

 

African Soft Furred Rats | The Original Australian Rat Forum

[♥~Whitewhiskers~♥]

 

I think I found a forum for them, but its on a restricted site and I use a school computer. Check it out-TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND

 

African Soft Furred Rats | The Original Australian Rat Forum

 

That was just a topic about pairing them with rats and people telling them that asf can’t be paired with mice lol that’s actually a whole rat forum, asf’s aren’t actually rats ‍♀ I would make atopic on petmousefanciers.com, but I can’t figure out how 

Edited by Whitewhiskers, 07 September 2020 - 08:32 AM.