Rat Suppliers

[ReticRave]

Well I'm looking for a new rat supplier. This will be the 3rd switch. I was going pretty good with this 1 lady, she is just a private breeder. But now its all going down hill . She keeps sending me the wrong sizes. I need somebody that sells Frozen Jumbo Rats, and Weaned Rat Pups. I'm open on private rat breeders or actual stores. I always that going with a breeder would be best. Or to me "cheaper". But recently she sent me some rats that were not even DEAD. Oh yeah, she sent me live rats, and I wasn't about to feed It to my snakes. I called her and she said it was a mix up with another person. But go ahead and keep them UH NO. lol! I'm scared to feed my snakes live after all the stories I've read about! So my friend feeds her montior live some times and her Water Snake live. I told her she could just have them for free no big deal. But now I paid and she wont give me my money back because she said "she said i can keep them". I didn't want them lol? Then I got a call from my friend, they had flea's all over there bodies along with eggs. I was in shock, another reason not to feed live (freezer fixs these problems). So I called her back and we were in a 2 hour arguement over this. Now I'm out of a rat supplier! I've been going up town to small Reptile shack that sells them. But she hardly has the sizes I need in. My friend keeps telling me go to Pet Supplies Plus, Petco, blah blah get live one's and kill them myself. Yeah right, I couldn't kill a rat If I wanted to. If there dead when they get here, I toss that sucker in with no remorce. Hey snakes and lizards got to eat to! But the guilt of killing the rat myself, I'd probably start crying lol. "Its ok Lucky It wont hurt that bad" haha. So basically anybody know a good source. I've been looking up sites, but i know a lot of people have problems. With stores and big suppliers getting wrong shipments, sizes, etc. I get to thinking I'll post here that way I know that somebody will give me a good supplier. Thats not going to rip me off or get me the wrong sizes and make sure there DEAD first lol. Thanks

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[boaterr]

rodentpro.com (there is no substitute for quality). Don't you own a retic? Where do you get the rabbits to feed your retic from?

[ReticRave]

Yes I own 5 Retics and 1 Albino Burm. I don't feed her Rabbits, just Jumbos. I was told to feed them smaller more often. Rather than larger less often. If thats wrong I can look in to getting them rabbits. But i was reading up and thats what everybody told me?? Its easier for them to digest smaller prey more often, rather than larger prey less often. They haven't had any weight problems and according to my vet they have a really good digestive track. Along with a healthy body . I seen Rodentpro.com but never heard of them, so just wanted some tips on sites first .

[pcncb]

Other than needing to feed a bunch of rats, I don't why it would be not ok to do but I would think rabbits would be cheaper and easier.

[Brandon28]

Yup. Rodentpro.com Frozen Feeder Rodents

You'll spend three times what you should be paying if you buy from Petco.

To get it cheaper than you've ever paid, you have to buy in bulk. It will save you hundreds of dollars a year.

For just 2 of my four boas, I was paying over $5 for the largest frozen rats at petco befor ethey grew ut of them. Then I got larger ones from my vet for $8, but they still weren't big enough, so each snake got 2 of them. That's $16 x 2 = $32 twice a month = $64 x 12 months = 768 for two snakes! With RodentPro, I'll buy a years' supply for less than $300

[ReticRave]

Yeah the supplier I got from had the size of RodentPro's XXL. Thats very nice they have XXXL hehe! Here's were about 400grams. There XXXL can get up to 600grams or more. I was feeding her about 2-3 a week, and she had a very nice round belly and not overweight. Nora is my biggest, my others are smaller. My Burm and 1 of my Tigers are just babies, so they don't get big rats right now. She charged $3 per rat, which i didn't think was bad. But they are currently having a sale I see for $1.50 EACH for the huge one's lol. They even have Guinea Pigs, never heard of feeding cavies before. I'll have to get some since everybody seems to like and buy from them .

[TheBoaGuy]

The cheapest way to get rats is to goto a reptile show and buy them frozen there. Rodent pro is good when they are eating smaller rats. But Jumbo rats take up to much room in there boxes and shipping is a fortune.

[boaterr]

Originally Posted by ReticRave

Yes I own 5 Retics and 1 Albino Burm. I don't feed her Rabbits, just Jumbos. I was told to feed them smaller more often. Rather than larger less often. If thats wrong I can look in to getting them rabbits. But i was reading up and thats what everybody told me?? Its easier for them to digest smaller prey more often, rather than larger prey less often. They haven't had any weight problems and according to my vet they have a really good digestive track. Along with a healthy body . I seen Rodentpro.com but never heard of them, so just wanted some tips on sites first .

Who told you feeding rats to an adult retic or burm was a good idea? Rabbits have much more bone density, protein and calcium than rats. As soon as they get big enough, most retic owners attempt to make the switch to rats or pigs. Down the line Bobclark, Mike Wilbanks, Nerd, Baldogo Reptiles, nearly every retic keeper I know and talk to have their animals on rabbits as soon as possiable. As soon as a retics starts eating rabbits, they usually go through a tremendous growth spurt. What is the length and weight of your retics?

On another note retics digestive systems where made to handle and consume lare prey, whoever told you feeding rats is the best food source for an adult retic is contradicting not just what independent owners claim, but also what the best breeders in the country recommend, and the countless zoos recommend.

[ReticRave]

I worked for Zoo's since i was a teenager lol. Its where i got most of my information from, my vet told me to feed her Jumbo Rats? So thats what I fed her when she got bigger, she's 16ft and not even 6 years old yet. I didn't see any problem in her "growing" she is an adult. She is my largest, my others are younger and smaller. My male Tiger and Burm are hatchlings there not very big at all just babies. The rest are between 1-3 years of age. She's my oldest and largest of all my snakes. I've worked in countless Zoo's and Reptile Shacks, its how i came across her in the first place. I was told feed her Jumbo's a few times a week. I don't go to shows, mainly because I don't spare the time to go to them. I use to but not any more. I can feed her rabbits if thats what she really requires. My vet deals with Exotics and Reptiles (herps). So I didn't go to some random vet, she knew her stuff. So i trusted her, but your telling me her lack of knowledge is causing problems for my Retic? If so, how big of rabbits should she be eating? How many a week, I feed a few rats to her a week. I thought if she was lacking something she would get depressed, aggressive or "lurk" for meals. She doesn't do any of that? I understand just because she looks porky doesn't mean she's healthy. But she gets normal check ups and she hasn't had any health problems? I should look this up again, thanks for the insite . Hopefully I can talk to my vet next check up, and look up the information. If its a problem or health risk, I have no problems feeding her rabbits. Thanks for telling me, I'll dig in to this problem.

[razeraze]

There is nothing wrong with feeding a ton of rats to a retic. The only problem that may occur is a snake that strikes more often because it gets fed more often and multiple prey items. I try to feed 1 large meal so the snake has to strike and coil less = cutting down on aggressive feeding.

How ever in the wild the most commonly consumed prey is different species of rats and second is different species of chicken. So large retics can do just fine on rats, it just means more striking and constricting.