Whether African Soft Fur rats (ASF’s) make picky ball pythons into better eaters, is a debate amongst ball python keepers. When you keep a large collection of ball pythons, you will occasionally run into picky snakes that will feed sporadically. When we researched ASF rats on the web, many ball breeders were claiming that these rats were great on problem feeders and getting wild imports to get their first meals in captivity. ASF rats are claimed to be a natural food item that cohabitates with wild ball python populations in West Africa.
At www.BallPythonAddiction.com we strictly feed domestic rats to our collection, but we experimented by purchasing and breeding a trio of ASF to see if certain sporadic eaters could be enticed into becoming routine weekly feeders. Our conclusions found that ASF rats are a great tool to have in a ball python collection. We find that in most, not all ball pythons, ASF can trigger a food response out of a fasting ball python. We have had males that refused food after the breeding season for a prolonged time. We offered rats and they simply refused rats over and over. Take out the rat and throw in an ASF and WHAM; it drew a quick food response. Two ASF feedings helped the snakes routinely feed and by the third feeding, switched over to its regular rat staple. We had one large female this season that refused to eat regular rats for a month after egg laying, where as our other females quickly took first meals after laying eggs. An introduction to an ASF drew an explosive food response and now has resumed feeding on regular rats.
Many people fear that a ball python can imprint on ASF just like ball pythons that become “mousers” or strictly mouse feeders. We have brought in some feisty balls that were strictly mousers in the past, but have found that perseverance can break the habit, and switch them over to rats. In our collection, the ball pythons that were offered ASF, eventually switched over to domestic rats. Most ball pythons will eat whatever rodent is available if they are acclimated to their environment and happy.
When we sell baby balls, we make sure that the animal is on established feeder on regular rats. That is only fair to the buyer of a new ball python. Rats are more common and available everywhere to most snake keepers. I believe that ASF can be a benefit to a ball collectors feeding regimen. Not all snakes feed the same and an ASF can help get finicky balls on track.
I have talked to many big ball breeders in regards to their opinions on ASF, and discovered that most have started to breed a small colony of ASF for their collection. ASF are easy to breed, prolific, and produce almost no odour compared to domestic rats. Time will tell if the ASF will catch on and be a mainstay feeder rodent in the hobby. Looking in the classified ads on many US and Canadian reptile forums, they seem to be rapidly growing in popularity.