All about the Multi's
I currently own 1 Male Multimammate, called Gonzo.
First of all to clear up confusion; Multi's are known by many different names - Multi / Multimammate being the only one widely agreed on, they are known as; Multimammate Rat, Multimammate mouse, Natal Rat, Soft furred mouse, Soft furred Rat etc - but a bit more about this will be explained in their care and history.
History and Care of Multimammates
Multimammates, are a cross linking species between mice and rats, and that is partly why they have names that refer to them as both, they have been classified within the Mus (true mice) genus, as it shares features of both mice and Rattus (true rats) genera, recent research shows no direct link to either and its has been included under the genus Mastomys. Multimammate simply means many breasts - as the female can have 8 - 12 PAIRS of teats, litters can range in size from 8 to 20 babies and they grow fast!
They are one of the commonest African rodents and were originally caught by Dr. Davis in the Natal province of South Africa 1939. They are about 2 - 3 times the size of mice and around 1/3 - 1/2 the size of a rat, typical body length is 15cm, with 11cm tail and adults weigh around 60g. They are new to the pet industry though they have been kept in labs for research since 1939 and kept as a source of food by herptile owners for a long time. They come in a range of colours, from the normal agouti, pied agouti, cinnamon, red eyed cinnamon and there is an albino strain.
Multi's need social interaction and get very lonely and depressed when kept by themselves! I have witnessed this myself when Oliver needed isolation to recover from injury. They will happily live in same sex groups and have a tendancy to prefer colonies rather than pairs. I have read that female only groups are more stable, and i have experienced some fighting in my male group, but most other owners and breeders often advise that the opposite is true - and that male only groups are less agressive - unless ofcourse you add any whiff of a female to the mixture! It is known that multi's are very tolerant of other species - and infact tolerant of strangers in their own species - they are relatively easy to introduce new ones to a group.
Multi's are crepuscular and are active throughout the day and night - but the tank really comes to life after dark. They are good swimmers (though i personally have never put this to the test) and very good climbers. sexing multi's is very easy - as males have large scrotal sacks, and even younger bucks display this.
Multi's are very active creatures, they are best housed in a tank as they will eventually chew anything that isnt glass or metal - they require a suitable well ventilated lid and lots of space - the bigger the better. They can get fatty without exercise easily and enjoy lots of toys to climb and play on, such as ropes to climb, swings (which i provide all my rodents with handmade by me), tunneling systems (i make my own and find best use of space is to directly attach these to the lid) and lots to knaw those teeth on, branches to climb are also good. Wheels i have mixed feelings about, since my multi's love their wheels, but i think they can become territorial and aggressive towards others using them - this is the case with Gonzo - who will not allow Kasper to use the wheel, however Oliver, Zeke, Ivor and Doug happily share. wheels i have noticed also seem to provoke swelling in the feet on my multi's which could be from sprains or broken bones in those that obsess over them, however they show no discomfort or limping from this. with all long tailed rodents it follows naturally that you should not use the metal type or open spoked type - i use the close spoked silent spinner type - which i am pleased to inform - really is virtually silent thanks to its ball bearings - otherwise i wouldnt stay sane with the noise from all the rodents using them!
Omnivorous in the wild, they eat seeds an fruit as the bulk of their diet, i feed all my rodents on the same mix, comprising shop bought hamster and rat rodent mixes in bags, and suppliments of seeds, dried fruits, oats & grains, cous cous and pasta. all of them will except additional feeds of meat and i provide insects for this purpose, using silent brown crickets, meal worms, wax worms and the particular favourite of my multi's - locusts (which i must admit are the type i hate to use - as i find im very squeamish of the locust and hate having them in the house). I keep a mealworm colony as this is the cheapest way to provide a constant meat source for all the animals, and whilst i try with the crickets - i have problems keeping anything that might fly in the house - which means i have to top up with wax worms and alike from shop bought sources on a regular basis. I tend not to feed meat to my multi's more than once a week, too many live insects or to regular feeding of them will make multi's fat - so it is a carefull balance - and i also believe over-feeding it leads to them having greasy coats.
Multi's have a life expectancy of up to 3 years for males, and 2 years for females - pressumably this discrepancy is due to child rearing in females, and if unbred they could also expect to reach the 3 year mark, though as i only keep males i would not know if female life span is increased from not breeding. Multi's can be prone to cancer, polyps, tumors and arthritis especially in old age and i recommend any potential new owner finds out the family history of any multi's they intend to keep. Coming from a warmer climate although multi's do not require a heat pad / bulb like reptiles a warmer cozy room does suit them better and any multi suffering arthritis would benefit greatly from increased room temperature as draughts and cold rooms tend to make the joints seize up in my experience. I am fairly gutted to say that these tendancies towards polyps and arthritis are present within my own colony of multi's and therefore i speak from the heart and experience when recommending researching the family history of any multi you intend to purchase.
They are one of the commonest African rodents and were originally caught by Dr. Davis in the Natal province of South Africa 1939. They are about 2 - 3 times the size of mice and around 1/3 - 1/2 the size of a rat, typical body length is 15cm, with 11cm tail and adults weigh around 60g. They are new to the pet industry though they have been kept in labs for research since 1939 and kept as a source of food by herptile owners for a long time. They come in a range of colours, from the normal agouti, pied agouti, cinnamon, red eyed cinnamon and there is an albino strain.
Multi's need social interaction and get very lonely and depressed when kept by themselves! I have witnessed this myself when Oliver needed isolation to recover from injury. They will happily live in same sex groups and have a tendancy to prefer colonies rather than pairs. I have read that female only groups are more stable, and i have experienced some fighting in my male group, but most other owners and breeders often advise that the opposite is true - and that male only groups are less agressive - unless ofcourse you add any whiff of a female to the mixture! It is known that multi's are very tolerant of other species - and infact tolerant of strangers in their own species - they are relatively easy to introduce new ones to a group.
Multi's are crepuscular and are active throughout the day and night - but the tank really comes to life after dark. They are good swimmers (though i personally have never put this to the test) and very good climbers. sexing multi's is very easy - as males have large scrotal sacks, and even younger bucks display this.
Multi's are very active creatures, they are best housed in a tank as they will eventually chew anything that isnt glass or metal - they require a suitable well ventilated lid and lots of space - the bigger the better. They can get fatty without exercise easily and enjoy lots of toys to climb and play on, such as ropes to climb, swings (which i provide all my rodents with handmade by me), tunneling systems (i make my own and find best use of space is to directly attach these to the lid) and lots to knaw those teeth on, branches to climb are also good. Wheels i have mixed feelings about, since my multi's love their wheels, but i think they can become territorial and aggressive towards others using them - this is the case with Gonzo - who will not allow Kasper to use the wheel, however Oliver, Zeke, Ivor and Doug happily share. wheels i have noticed also seem to provoke swelling in the feet on my multi's which could be from sprains or broken bones in those that obsess over them, however they show no discomfort or limping from this. with all long tailed rodents it follows naturally that you should not use the metal type or open spoked type - i use the close spoked silent spinner type - which i am pleased to inform - really is virtually silent thanks to its ball bearings - otherwise i wouldnt stay sane with the noise from all the rodents using them!
Omnivorous in the wild, they eat seeds an fruit as the bulk of their diet, i feed all my rodents on the same mix, comprising shop bought hamster and rat rodent mixes in bags, and suppliments of seeds, dried fruits, oats & grains, cous cous and pasta. all of them will except additional feeds of meat and i provide insects for this purpose, using silent brown crickets, meal worms, wax worms and the particular favourite of my multi's - locusts (which i must admit are the type i hate to use - as i find im very squeamish of the locust and hate having them in the house). I keep a mealworm colony as this is the cheapest way to provide a constant meat source for all the animals, and whilst i try with the crickets - i have problems keeping anything that might fly in the house - which means i have to top up with wax worms and alike from shop bought sources on a regular basis. I tend not to feed meat to my multi's more than once a week, too many live insects or to regular feeding of them will make multi's fat - so it is a carefull balance - and i also believe over-feeding it leads to them having greasy coats.
Multi's have a life expectancy of up to 3 years for males, and 2 years for females - pressumably this discrepancy is due to child rearing in females, and if unbred they could also expect to reach the 3 year mark, though as i only keep males i would not know if female life span is increased from not breeding. Multi's can be prone to cancer, polyps, tumors and arthritis especially in old age and i recommend any potential new owner finds out the family history of any multi's they intend to keep. Coming from a warmer climate although multi's do not require a heat pad / bulb like reptiles a warmer cozy room does suit them better and any multi suffering arthritis would benefit greatly from increased room temperature as draughts and cold rooms tend to make the joints seize up in my experience. I am fairly gutted to say that these tendancies towards polyps and arthritis are present within my own colony of multi's and therefore i speak from the heart and experience when recommending researching the family history of any multi you intend to purchase.