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LyddicleaveBurrow
05-30-2010, 12:40 PM
Hi,

I am lucky enough to have some Acacia Rats. These beautiful creatures can become as tame and interactive as a Fancy Rat, and are amazing creatures to keep. They are very intelligent and inquisitive beasties.

As their name suggests Acacia Rats are often found living in and around Acacia trees. In the wild Acacia Rats are found in Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Malawi and Kenya.

Acacia Rats are seasonal breeders in the wild and in captivity they seem to start breeding around February. Acacia Rat litters are small (three on average) and Acacia Rat mothers often just have a single pup in a litter.

One of my Acacia Rat pairs, Amara and Mosi, have recently had a couple of litters. On 21st April Amara gave birth to a single pup. This pup turned out to be female. Nia the pup is gorgeous, very tame and very cheeky!!!

On 17th May Amara gave birth to a litter of three. To my suprise one of the pups is a banded pup. Banded Acacia Rats have been bred in Germany. However, although there may well be others, I only know of one other banded Acacia Rat pup that has appeared in a litter in the UK.

The banded colour is a recessive colour and the German breeders have been working with it for some time. The white bands can vary as much as the banded markings in Syrian Hamsters and can vary from a narrow or broken band to a wide or clear band. It's quite a striking colour.

It's early days for Amara's babies (Acacia Rats are weaned at around 30 days), but so far Amara is being a wonderful mum. If all goes well with her three new babies Amara's pups (and Nia her older daughter) will stay with me and join the other Acacia Rats as treasured members of my rodent family.

Attached are some pictures of Amara, Mosi, their older daughter Nia and their new babies and a picture of Masai, a male pup born in February to another pair - Ash and Akili.

Heather.

wofunny
05-30-2010, 12:45 PM
Awwwh! I can't belive how different they look! They are so cute and... Exotic?! :) x

WinterbellHams
05-30-2010, 01:11 PM
They are very cute! Their faces remind me almost of flying squirrels. Are they anything like African Soft furred rats (multimammates?)

Blue Dragon
05-31-2010, 02:14 AM
I have eight Fancy Rats as pets, so I love to see the differences between other kinds of rat. I've never heard of anyone keeping Acacia Rats in aaaages, are they hard to keep? Do they need special care or feeding?

They are very cute : ) I'd love some now... but no room left at the inn unfortunatly!

LyddicleaveBurrow
05-31-2010, 05:24 AM
Hi,

As with African Soft Furred Rats - Acacia Rats are nocturnal and social, but otherwise they are in a league of their own.

Acacia Rats are not difficult to keep as pets. In the past they have had a reputation for being nippy, almost "hands off" beasties, but my experience with these animals has been very different. All of my Acacia Rats are very tame, and most crave attention. Masai, the pup born in February, races up to the doorway of his enclosure to be taken out for a fuss.

As they are tree rats Acacia Rats need to be given the opportunity to climb. My guys are bedded on Aspen bedding and are given hay or shredded tissue as nesting materials (many seem to prefer the tissue). They love toys like cardboard tubes which they often pull to the entrance to their nest.

Acacia Rats in the wild survive mainly on a diet of the leaves and buds of the Acacia trees and bushes. They also gnaw the gum from the bark of Acacia trees, and forage for berries and roots. Insects are occassionally eaten too. In captivity Acacia Rats have shown themselves to be quite adaptable and eat a variety of rodent mixes. They do have high energy requirements.

My Acacia Rats are fed on a mix based on a premium gerbil mix. To this I add a parakeet mix containing dates and Acacia seeds, small seeds, a little softbill bird food, and dried mealworms (sprinkled with a calcium supplement). The rats have daily portions of fresh fruit, and about twice a week their fresh fruit is drizzled with Acacia Honey. They also have red nectar, which they adore.

They are really wonderful animals to have as pets and I adore mine.

Heather.

Blue Dragon
06-01-2010, 02:59 AM
Thank you for telling me more about them Heather... you've made me want some even more now! : )

My Fancy Rats live in a five-foot high 'Tower' cage and have a ton of stuff to climb around on, but there too big to fit into cardboard tubes X ) They do have a carpet tube to play in though!

I'm suprized about them being so adaptable with their diet. I would have thoght they'd need something quite simmilar to what they'd have in the wild.

Thay are very cute. They look like they're trying to be scary bandits... but not quite getting the effect right X )

annie81
06-01-2010, 03:02 AM
they are so gorgeous....and so different from "normal" rats

LyddicleaveBurrow
06-01-2010, 05:31 AM
Hi Blue Dragon.

Yes - Acacia Rats have proved to be highly adaptable as regards their diet, which helps them to thrive when kept in captivity. The red nectar and Acacia Honey replicate the high energy foods such as nectar and Acacia gum that they would have in the wild. There are suppliers of Acacia Gum in the UK now, and I intend to try this with my Acacia Rats.

I had forgotten to say that Acacia Rats forage for seeds around the Acacia trees, and the seed mixes that pet Acacia Rats are given replicate this natural food. I use a parakeet mix which has Acacia seeds in it as part of the mix that I give to my Acacia Rats and they love these seeds. Pumpkin seeds are also a firm favourite. The leaves and buds of the Acacia trees are more of a challenge to provide, but the fresh fruit replicate the berries that these beasties would find in the wild. I have found that my Acacia Rats won't touch vegetables, but have a very sweet tooth.

Your rat's home sounds wonderful. They will be very happy and contented rats.

Heather.

Blue Dragon
06-02-2010, 02:32 AM
Thank you again Heather. It's very interesting.

I suppose a lot of fruit doesn't cause problems then, as it would for other furries? Like weight gain etc. It's funny that they won't touch their veg. Not even sweet veg like peas or sweetcorn?

My lot love sweetcorn. As long as it's got sweetcorn in it doesn't matter what it is, it's scrummy!

LyddicleaveBurrow
06-03-2010, 02:40 AM
Hi Blue Dragon,

No - the high fruit content of their diet doesn't cause any problems with obesity providing that they have lots of room to exercise.

In the wild these animals have quite a sweet tooth as they will forage for berries, and gnaw the gum from the Acacia trees as well as having the nectar from buds and flowers.

Heather.

Blue Dragon
06-03-2010, 02:51 AM
So can they be quite hyperactive then, eating so much sweet things? Do they tend to have their 'mad moments'? I can imagin if they do that they could be quite a hand full? I know when my fancy rats start it's next to impossable to catch one X )

LyddicleaveBurrow
06-03-2010, 08:11 AM
Hi BlueDragon,

No - the sweet content of their diet doesn't seem to affect their behaviour. However, I have found that all of my Acacia Rats have very distinct and very different personalities. Ashanti, a two-year old girl, is very laid back and loves to snuggle into the crook of my arm to have her ears tickled. Masai, a young pup born in February, on the other hand is a bundle of energy and whizzes up my arm onto my shoulder. He also objects to being put back in his enclosure - much preferring to jump out again onto my arm. Masai and his companion Akinyi are inseperable and she is a quieter, very loving personality.

Acacia Rats are highly intelligent, like the Fancy Rats. They need lots of toys to occupy them and lots of attention from their owner.

Attached are a few pics of Masai and Akinyi - now both around four months old. These two will hopefully be a breeding pair in the future. These pics were taken at various times over the last couple of months.

Heather.

Heather.

wofunny
06-03-2010, 08:54 AM
Awwwwh :) CUTE <3

fluffymunchkins
06-03-2010, 09:59 AM
wow long tails :D

annie81
06-04-2010, 02:57 AM
gorgeous pictures :-)

SarahJ
06-04-2010, 03:15 AM
they look like sugar glinders!

Ive never seen or heard about a Acacia Rat before! they are pretty animals

LyddicleaveBurrow
06-04-2010, 09:21 AM
Hi,

Here are some pictures of Amara's pups. Amara had come out of her nest to investigate some fresh fruit and I was able to take a few quick photos of the pups.

Heather.

Iluvhamsters
06-05-2010, 12:33 PM
Awww, they're lovely :) I wish I had somewhere to keep Acacia Rats. How big are they in comparison to something like Fancy Rats or Syrian Hamsters?

Moosley
06-19-2010, 02:31 PM
*bump*

I am desperately seeking an unrelated pair of Acacia rats, preferable from young. Kat and I have oned and bred a pair of Acacia rats before 3-4 years ago and they just seemed fairly nonexistant and it doesnt seem to have improved, they are an amazing species though NOTHING like your typical rats and hamsters.

My other half an i have set up a shop selling pets and aquatics but the upstairs level is mine to do what i like with rodents, i would like in the next few months to build a big cage, about 6ft high by 3ft wide but 1.5 - 2ft front to back for a pair of acacia rats to go in the shop (its a warm shop and as busy as we are, its not a supermarket and the cage area is behind the till, means they canbe on show but no prying fingers etc).

I 100% "need" acacia rats, i miss Kats pair, we had them so tame and sweet, maybe not as cuddley as yours but they were wild and loopy as nutters when we first got them, terrified of contact and then treats won them over, honey, peanuts, seeds... they would come out for treats and stuff.

I have been racking my brains where to get them from, i can easily sourse them from a certain wholesalers (S***** R******) *cough* but i just had 10 louse ridden mice arrive from the company, i keep saying never again but i just cant find anyone with the rats i want...

Anyone you know?

Gemma

LyddicleaveBurrow
06-20-2010, 03:12 AM
Hi Gemma,

Acacia Rats are incredible creatures and wonderful pets. Sadly though they are still very scarce.

There are breeders in Europe. Foreverhams has a pair - I don't know if they have bred. Other than that I only know of New World Exotics in Nottingham that has them available other than the wholesaler that you mentioned.

Good luck in your search - they are fabulous creatures and I adore mine. I will not have any available for some considerable time as most of the pups will be staying with me to build strong lines of both the wild colour and the banded colour.

Heather.

BrainGirl
06-20-2010, 07:21 AM
Do I see a parti-coloured pup in there? I thought they were always brownish!

LyddicleaveBurrow
06-20-2010, 09:10 AM
Hi BrainGirl,

There is quite a variation in the wild colour of Acacia Rats. They vary from fawn to steel grey. Most have the characteristic dark eye circles, but in some rats these eye rings can be light or absent.

The banded form has been bred by German breeders for some time, but it is still rare. The banded colour is a recessive colour, and just as in banded Syrian Hamsters the band can vary from a wide broken band to a narrow clean band. The German breeders have been attempting to produce rats with a clean clear white band from the middle of the body to just before the end of the rump - as with all marked animals this is very difficult to get.

Although there may be others I only know of one other banded pup other than my own that has turned up in a litter in the UK so far.

My own banded pup is a little female and I have named her Afrika. Her siblings are a male called Naadir, and another female called Akinyi. Afrika is a confident, mischievious character, Akinyi is calmer and quieter, and Naadir is a quiet, highly intelligent pup. He will sit and weigh up every situation and often sits on his hanging ladder watching the world go by.

Here are some pics of the pups that were taken this afternoon.:)

Heather.

Raii
07-28-2012, 04:32 PM
Hey Guys :)

I Have Recently Bought 4 Acacia Rats. I Have One Adult Male One Adult Female One Young Female One Baby Female.

The Baby Female Is A Banded Acacia Rat Her Mother Who I Have Is An African Acacia Rat. They Are All Very Loving And Very Cute :)

Easily Tamed And Very Friendly :)

Okay So The Question I Wanted To Ask Was When Is The Breeding Season???
And
How Do You Know When And If They Are Pregnant?

Vectis Hamstery
07-29-2012, 03:17 AM
I don't think many people on this forum have acacia rats. I am getting a pair soon, but as pets rather than breeding. The Crittery website (http://crittery.co.uk/acacia/acacia_rats.php)has lots of useful information about exotic rodents and there is the Exotic Keepers Forum if you have questions. That said, the principles of researching before breeding are still important for exotics, perhaps more so as the species are less well known than hamsters which have been kept as pets in the UK for about a century longer than acacia rats. http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/breeding-hamsters/309-think-before-you-breed.html

littlepeanut
07-29-2012, 03:20 AM
Wows, they are lovely. I love the long tails. Incredibly beautiful :-)