Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently began a little gerbil colony, I only have 2 females, one of which i'm sure is infertile, the other one gave birth to 5 babies this week.... i'm thinking of also starting a african soft fur colony too,

How fast do gerbils and soft fur rats compare to breeding growing and general development. I know both tend to grow slower than domestic rats, how long does it usually take for a colony to grow large enough to start using them as feeders? Should I start with several breeding pairs as well as babies or just adults?

You should start your gerbils 1.1, some females don't like sharing a male. Some young pairs can produce litters of 8-9 every 5-6 weeks, though litters of 4-6 are more common. Young can be raised with their parents and take about 6 months to reach "jumbo" size. Over crowding increases mortality and reduces reproduction.
You can start ASFs 1.3. They produce larger litters, 10-12. They do better in groups, but if overcrowded tend to eat their young. They grow almost as large as gerbils. Some people say they are aggressive and bite a lot, mine are not at all aggressive, and are very handleable, but I haven't had them long enough to tell more.
Claude

I find ASF's never grow large enough for adult ball pythons. Gerbils...maybe. I don't have much experience with them but from what I have heard, they are slow breeders and have to be kept in pairs for breeding.

ASF's don't do well in large colonies, so 1:2 or 1:3 should be the only colony sizes.

Like any rodent, if they are socialized a little, they are less likely to bite. If they only see you when you clean the cage or steal their young to feed off..they are more likely to be nippy.
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PHLdyPayne

ASFR ...like 17 babies every 23 days...grow slow...feed better,,,grow faster.....you can keep them 1 male to like 3 or 4 females in a 10 G tank

gerbils....keep them 1.1 ,,the other girl isn't sterile...they just don't breed if kept together....one will drop one won't , maybe never....4 to 8 baby every ? 28 days or less ,I don't know...and they dig and are bad mothers, so good luck and feed well and give nesting material and something to chew on...gerbils are bored and suck...LOL

...I do both...plus peromyscus and chinese hamsters ,mice and rats....I need them all.......plus......
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...JY

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