I have a female corn snake hatchling who refuses to eat frozen/thawed (believe me, I've tried all the tricks) and only eats live mice and I have a female 200g ball python girl that only eats live rats. Currently, I'm paying about $9 a week on feeders for these two but this will only go up as they both get bigger. I usually bulk order my rodents online because it's cheaper and I only have to buy rodents twice a year.


  • Do you think it's cost effective to just breed my own food? These are not my only snakes. I have 2 other ball pythons and 5 other corn snakes to pick up the leftovers if needed or I can sell them to other people or my local pet shop who's always short on feeders.
  • I was thinking of maybe having a 1.1 colony of mice and a 1.1 colony of rats. Do you think that is too little?
  • Do you think it's even worth it in the long run?
  • Since I would have to keep my rodents in my closet (no where else to really put them because my family is not really fond of rodents), how bad would they smell and what could I do to reduce that smell? I know mice smell awful and rats are fairly clean. I would be worried about my clothes and bedroom smelling.


Your opinions are much appreciated. I'm really on the fence about this and have been for a little over a month.