# How to hypnotize your ASF



## Rhasputin

Something I've been working on with desensitizing the ASFs. 
First I scruff them, and lift them out of the cage, and slowly cup my hand under them so they're laying on their backs. Then I distract them with gentle belly rubs, and eventually, let go of the scruff, and keep rubbing their bellies. Most of the girls enjoy or tollerate it, but the boys don't like to be scruffed at all! 

The ASFs in the photos, are not being restrained by the scruff.


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## geordiesmice

lol you can do that too chickens too.


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## Rhasputin

And blue crabs!


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## geordiesmice

do you keep those too Rhasputin


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## Rhasputin

No, but I eat them! :mrgreen:


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## mouser

You eat ASF's!?!?

LOL 
Are those full grown . I'll be getting some in the next couple weeks .


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## Rhasputin

NOOO I EAT BLUE CRABS! 

That is a full grown, large female. I've had them grow X-large before, but this female is pretty big!


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## moustress

So you hypnotize the blue crabs and eat them?

ps i'm loving those fleece pants


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## Rhasputin

Not at the same time, haha. But you can hypnotize them.


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## jessierose2006

:lol: :lol: :lol: Too funny. Rhasputin eating ASFs and hypnotizing Crabs :lol:


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## Rhasputin

You BET!


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## evansrabbitranch

Thos are nice! Neat how you can get them to let you handle them. I had some before I found out they are illegal to own in MO. Evil buggers. I had to wear heavy gloves to go near them to get their food dish for cleaning and filling. You obviously have some from a much better line. Do you see any of the pink eyed colors?


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## Rhasputin

Yes. I have some argente (pink eyed agouti) and ruby eyed agouti. I'm trying to breed for both.


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## evansrabbitranch

Neat! So they only have 2 colors so far? Will be ineteresting to hear if you ever get a mutation giving a new color.


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## Rhasputin

There are several colours, but they're almost all agouti based so far. 
Agouti, cinnamon, argente, and white. White is actually a high white, so it's a piebald, with no spots. There is no such thing as an albino ASF so far, but there are pink eyed high whites, as well as ruby eyed white, black eyed whites, and platinums. Platinum, is a white animal, with black eyes, and black or gray ears.

That's -it-. :lol: 
People say they've created black, but it's all hype. Nobody has black yet.


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## evansrabbitranch

That is very interesting. Good luck with your breeding


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## gothling

geordiesmice said:


> lol you can do that too chickens too.


my dad has chickens he said that, aparent you you draw a line lay the along it and they'll just stay there?


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## geordiesmice

lol yes there daft arent they.


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## Stina

I have ASF's too....my originals came from a reptile show...I've heard so much negative about them...but the ones I have have never been terrible. The adults have never bitten me. One female tried once when she had babies and wanted me away from them...but they're mostly ok. I actually don't handle mine much as I'm trying to breed for natural docility.


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## mouser

I'll be getting 1.3 weanlings next week and hope I can handle them . I will be putting them through rigorous selection for tameness in the manner of the Russian fox study to see what effect it will have. I read an account of one breeder of voles that tried this with no effect but that may have to do with the selection process rather than the species . I plan to produce a lot of them then test the males and the females separately and select the least aggressive from each generation to breed with. 
I can't wait to see them. I sure hope they are easier to sex than mice. Can't seem to figure it out here.


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## Rhasputin

Selecting for aggression in ASFs won't have similar physical effects like in the foxes. 
Dogs, and their very very close relatives wolves, and foxes, have a high number of something called 'tandom repeats' in their genes, which is why we see such variety in their physical shapes, even in the wild. 

Cats have a high number as well, but not as many as dogs.


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## Stina

Mouser...that's basically what I'm doing, and why I don't handle mine. Mine are currently being very very slow to breed though....brats.


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## Rhasputin

ASFs are always slow to breed! 
And slow to grow to breeding size. It's weird since they're born with fur, so it's kind of like they're born further in development, but grow slower than mice!


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## minibears

i'm aussie, what's an ASF? :?


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## Rhasputin

African Soft furred rat!


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## minibears

oh, we can't import rodents. we only have black and brown rats, cavies, rabbits and mus musculus here. but we have a HUGE selection of undomesticated native mice, rats and marsupial mice here. be great to be allowed to do something with those. early days yet :lol:


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## Rhasputin

I'm trying to get ASFs to be more mainstream. . . Maybe I'll start a club.


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## evansrabbitranch

Wierd, the ASFs I had, I had for about 6 months, got the first trio as adults, they had babies, and just before I gave them away the babies had babies. The babies from the first litters were almost as big as their parents. . . maybe since they were from feeder lines they had been bred for size and growth rate?


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## Rhasputin

ASFs, inclusing feeder ASFs, don't grow to breeding size until 3-5 months of age.


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## evansrabbitranch

That explains it! I got the first trio already bred. Hmm, how is 3-5 months slow to grow/breed? Mice don't breed until that age range, nor do gerbils, rabbits tend to breed 4 to 9 months, cats 6 to 9 months. . . Seems rodents are the fastest growing and reproducing animals. . .


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## Rhasputin

Well. Mice can breed at 8 weeks, which is about 2 months old. ASFs tend to lean more to the 5 month side of things, 3 months would be lucky. 

Usually, once they get the idea, they'll breed non stop. :roll:


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## evansrabbitranch

Huh, I have never had mice breed at 8 weeks, always 12 weeks or later. . . I must have lazy mice lol.


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## zany_toon

How on earth did you manage to get them by the scruff of the neck?!?! Mine are too crazy to let me near their neck long enough to grab them :lol: Thankfully they are very tame ones although they do seem rather obsessed with tearing holes in my trousers when they get out :lol:


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## FeralWolf

I hypnotized a lobster in Maine once. You put it's claws so it looks like it's doing a handstand, then they go all still until you flip them upright again. :lol: :lol:


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