Loading
AFRICAN SOFT FUR NATAL RAT CARE
(Praomys natalensis)
African soft fur natal rats
Blake Skinner
www.BCSkinzReptiles.com
African Natal Rats (a.k.a Soft Fur Rats or ASF’s for short) are a medium sized African rodent of particular interest to reptile hobbyists. They are a great source of food for medium sized snakes and a natural prey for Ball pythons and other African animals. Natal rats are often referred to as a “miracle food”. They are known for getting picky eaters feeding again and growing larger healthier reptiles. They are also very prolific breeders often having litters of 20 or more young at a time and they are virtually odorless in small groups.
HOUSING
ASF’s can be housed in a cage, aquarium or chew proof bins. A regular size rat cage works great for a group of these rats, but be sure that young natal rats can’t fit through the bars. A 20 gallon aquarium or larger with a good lid that your rats can’t chew through also works very well. Just be sure the enclosure you choose does not have weak points for the rats to start their gnawing on. These rats are not your average chewers and have been known to chew through some pretty tough materials.
HEATING/ TEMPS/ LIGHTING
AFS’s do well in temperatures of 68 F - 75 F (20 C - 24 C). I have always had success with ASF’s in this range. I’ve tested to see if a warmer climate makes any difference in an ASF’s life and I don’t see any major changes. I haven’t seen any difference in litter sizes, reproduction rates or how fast they reach maturity in warmer climates. You can keep your ASF’s in regular room temperature and they will do fine.
FEEDING
ASF’s thrive on a diet consisting mostly of small animal seed mix and commercial rat pellets. They also like fruits and vegetables. You can feed them just about everything but remember the rule “you are what you eat” and your reptiles will be eating these rats. I feed my ASF’s a combination of small animal mix, mazuri rat breeding pellets and scrap fruits and veggies. The rats should always have access to food in their enclosure.
DAILY MAINTENANCE / HANDLING
Check your rats each day to see if they have food and water. Top up their food and water as necessary. ASF’s are relatively new to North America and have a nasty reputation. However, handling your ASF’s daily will sustain a good relationship between you and your rats. I find they can become very tame through interaction. I’ve worked hard to domesticate my AFS’s and I find them to be very tame. I handle them often and very rarely get bit.
BREEDING
Breeding ASF’s is very easy. All you need to do is put a male and female together. They sexually mature between 2-3 months. Their gestation period is usually no more then 21 days and they ovulate every 4 days which usually results in a new littler every 3-4 weeks. The babies are born altricial, which means they are not fully developed when they’re born and they require parental care for some time before full development occurs. They usually become weaned after 2-3 weeks at which time you can remove them from their mother. Don’t let open eyes fool you though. Just because a rats eyes are open, it doesn’t mean it’s fully weaned. Study them and make sure they are not still on their mother’s teat. Removal of an ASF from its mother before it is fully weaned will cause physical stress to the baby and stunt its growth.
ASF’s can be housed in a cage, aquarium or chew proof bins. A regular size rat cage works great for a group of these rats, but be sure that young natal rats can’t fit through the bars. A 20 gallon aquarium or larger with a good lid that your rats can’t chew through also works very well. Just be sure the enclosure you choose does not have weak points for the rats to start their gnawing on. These rats are not your average chewers and have been known to chew through some pretty tough materials.
HEATING/ TEMPS/ LIGHTING
AFS’s do well in temperatures of 68 F - 75 F (20 C - 24 C). I have always had success with ASF’s in this range. I’ve tested to see if a warmer climate makes any difference in an ASF’s life and I don’t see any major changes. I haven’t seen any difference in litter sizes, reproduction rates or how fast they reach maturity in warmer climates. You can keep your ASF’s in regular room temperature and they will do fine.
FEEDING
ASF’s thrive on a diet consisting mostly of small animal seed mix and commercial rat pellets. They also like fruits and vegetables. You can feed them just about everything but remember the rule “you are what you eat” and your reptiles will be eating these rats. I feed my ASF’s a combination of small animal mix, mazuri rat breeding pellets and scrap fruits and veggies. The rats should always have access to food in their enclosure.
DAILY MAINTENANCE / HANDLING
Check your rats each day to see if they have food and water. Top up their food and water as necessary. ASF’s are relatively new to North America and have a nasty reputation. However, handling your ASF’s daily will sustain a good relationship between you and your rats. I find they can become very tame through interaction. I’ve worked hard to domesticate my AFS’s and I find them to be very tame. I handle them often and very rarely get bit.
BREEDING
Breeding ASF’s is very easy. All you need to do is put a male and female together. They sexually mature between 2-3 months. Their gestation period is usually no more then 21 days and they ovulate every 4 days which usually results in a new littler every 3-4 weeks. The babies are born altricial, which means they are not fully developed when they’re born and they require parental care for some time before full development occurs. They usually become weaned after 2-3 weeks at which time you can remove them from their mother. Don’t let open eyes fool you though. Just because a rats eyes are open, it doesn’t mean it’s fully weaned. Study them and make sure they are not still on their mother’s teat. Removal of an ASF from its mother before it is fully weaned will cause physical stress to the baby and stunt its growth.
