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prices on feeders

C

cemf123

New member
okay so i was in petsmart the other day i was shopping for some supplies for snakes and rats both. and i looked at the price tag for live regular rats and it was $10! that doesnt mean any fancy varieties just the common ones and the dumbos double rex(hairless) was $15 and up talk about expensive. i am looking for live feeder rats in the fort wayne IN area
 
They are expensive at petsmart because they sell them as pets there. If you tell them they are to feed your snake, its likely they won't sell them to you. Try petco if you have one. Or any other local pet store, they might carry feeders.

Are you feeding live? I feed f/t, much more convenient and cheaper too! And of course, safer for the snake.
 
I used to work at PetSmart, they WON"T sell them to you as a feeder. Any associate who would would be fired for it if a manager found out. I saw a few people fired for it. Also, if you tell them what it is for, they are not likely to be too nice about it; my old manager threw plenty of people out for that when "No, they are pets, I can't sell you that." wasn't accepted immediately. And a lot of associates will be very upset that you want to feed live in the first place. One of the difference with small animals between PetSmart and Petco; Petco RECCOMENDS you feed frozen, while PetSmart DEMANDS it.
 
yeah im going to feed prekilled so i can make sure they are healthy for my snakes. ive heard some horror stories in the past but no feeding live for me its cruel and harmful to the snake. forgot to add that
 
So you are looking for live ones that you can kill and freeze yourself than? That's not a bad idea, get a look at dinner before it's dead and than have the convenience of it being frozen/pre-killed. Do you plan on freezing after pre-killing? I think it helps to kill bacteria. I could never kill them myself. I love rats and mice, and have owned a number of both of them.
 
GlitterFlame89 said:
So you are looking for live ones that you can kill and freeze yourself than? That's not a bad idea, get a look at dinner before it's dead and than have the convenience of it being frozen/pre-killed. Do you plan on freezing after pre-killing? I think it helps to kill bacteria. I could never kill them myself. I love rats and mice, and have owned a number of both of them.
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Generally you don't freeze prekilled. The point is that the rat/mouse is still warm.

I'd also recommend frozen. If you're worried that your snake won't take it, try getting the mouse very hot and wiggling it with a pair of tweezers.
 
I have a ball that will only take live. much to my dismay... My "feed der breader'" went out of biz. much to my dismay. Since then we have caught live rats in the grocery store that my husband works at (have 2, 4 back up). For the RTB I also have a house I oversee that they have "mice" OMG! I got live traps and check them every 4 days and supply my Ball with feeders!:flames:
Can't get any better. :flames:
:shrugs:
snakes gotta eat too!
 
I was really freaked out and not wanting to feed my snakes anything but "commercial"(I know I sp it wrong) bought feeders."They might have a disease! Don't feed them that! "I have not seen an adverse effect from the grocery store mice/rats.
 
Pet Smart Sells Live Feeders In Florida at lest in this Part i raise my own tho now. i set up 20 mouse and rat lab units paul
 
Jrgh17 said:
Generally you don't freeze prekilled.
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Why not? Got far more pinkies last week than I could eat...er... feed in one sitting. Same would hold for any sub-adult mice. I'd also do that with adults if I had more live ones than I wanted to care for, particularly when you have some snakes used to F/T and don't want to give them a hint that there's another option.

But I get your point regarding prekilling adult mice for semi-picky eaters.
 
Mmm i envy you americans sometimes! It seems most of your prices are the same as ours except we have a £ sign infront of them, But because of exchange rates we're actually paying twice as much! (Dumbo rats in my local Pets@home are £10 = $5~) .

Could work out well for some things that we can import though... Like cars! a £20,000 car over here could work out as £10,000 over there... so roughly £11,500 with shipping, Sub £15,000 with taxes etc. Just a shame you drive on the wrong side of the road! :smash:


What's the nutritional value of rats (Or rat pups) compared to a similar sized mouse?
 
Rorryy said:
I have not seen an adverse effect from the grocery store mice/rats.
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I'd be pretty nervous about feeding w/c rats like that. What if the rat you catch just nibbled on some D-con a while ago? Feral or wild rats can build up immunities to poisons or ingest just a little bit, not enough to make it appear sick, but enough to hurt your snakes. Surely there must be a better way to find rats in WA state?
 
freezing helps to kill any parasites that might be living in the prey. This is especially true of wild caught ones. I don't think I would feel comfortable feeding w/c due to what was said above about d-con and the like. I have been raising my own for awhile and it really pays off. I can pick the size I need on the day I need it, gas the mouse, and feed it off. Also, eventhough I don't like doing it, I have a few snakes that will only eat live. After an 8month battle of not eating, they are doing good with live. I only feed live mice though due to less damage that can be done by the teeth, but you still have a bite to an eye and other things to worry about. Feed live if you HAVE to, feed pre-killed if they won't take f/t, but f/t is the best way to go. I raise my own and cull them and freeze for 28 days, that seems to be consenus of time to ensure all parasites are dead.
 
If you freeze prekilled, it becomes F/T.

I'd also never feed w/c prey items for the same reasons. I like having the back-up that the animals I purchase for feeders are healthy.

My BP only takes live too, but this is a cornsnake site. Most corns will take F/T prey, although you may have to jiggle it for them at first. I've also had good results with slicing the mice for picky feeders. Nothing like the smell of blood to entice the appetite. :eatsmiley
 
Rorryy said:
I was really freaked out and not wanting to feed my snakes anything but "commercial"(I know I sp it wrong) bought feeders."They might have a disease! Don't feed them that! "I have not seen an adverse effect from the grocery store mice/rats.
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Not just that W/C Rodents carry INTERNAL PARASITES. I highly recommend against using W/C prey animals at all cost. Not just to your pets but also to yourself. Remember Rodents carry disease and parasites that can effect humans as well. Not just that, what happens if you are bitten by the animal. That would mean rabies shots.
All in all, a very bad idea with good intentions.

I personally feel in the long run its just easier and cheaper for me to just order Frozen foods for my animals. I have enough animals that this is by far the cheapest way to go.

I also recommend if you have a animal that is CB and only eats live? To keep on trying, seriously when I hear people state they have a CB snake that will not eat frozen, I ask how long have they tried to convert. You can convert any snake to frozen. Well unless its a wild caught Ball, then maybe. ;)
But I have converted all my Ball pythons and I had a MBK that would only eat live and she now eats frozen. It takes awhile but it can happen, you just gotta keep at it and one day your snake will take frozen food.
 
tricksterpup said:
Not just that W/C Rodents carry INTERNAL PARASITES. I highly recommend against using W/C prey animals at all cost. Not just to your pets but also to yourself. Remember Rodents carry disease and parasites that can effect humans as well. Not just that, what happens if you are bitten by the animal. That would mean rabies shots.
All in all, a very bad idea with good intentions.

I personally feel in the long run its just easier and cheaper for me to just order Frozen foods for my animals. I have enough animals that this is by far the cheapest way to go.

I also recommend if you have a animal that is CB and only eats live? To keep on trying, seriously when I hear people state they have a CB snake that will not eat frozen, I ask how long have they tried to convert. You can convert any snake to frozen. Well unless its a wild caught Ball, then maybe. ;)
But I have converted all my Ball pythons and I had a MBK that would only eat live and she now eats frozen. It takes awhile but it can happen, you just gotta keep at it and one day your snake will take frozen food.
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I used to know a someone who had the largest collection of native reptiles and amphibians in the Rhode Island. He had everything that was legal to keep, and used the animals for educational purposes. Virtually everything he had ate frozen/thawed food, there was not one animal that ate live.
He even had a dog-tame black racer named Jack. He caught Jack and tamed him down by letting Jack bite him until he got tired and decided that the big human was no threat. Even Jack ate thawed food, I saw it with my own eyes.
 
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