I have 6 BPs (of course I said I was only buying one and NO more), sounds like a common occurance around here. I have always fed live and just started raising rats as well. I know that I will still have to get rats from my other source due to all 6 are different sizes and the chance of having the right size rat at the right time is slim. I plan on freezing some of these so I can keep the sizes where I need them. I have read all of the info on switching from Live to F/T, but does anyone do both? I would like to feed live when I can and F/T when I need to. I wasn't sure if this is something that once you get them switched to F/T, you feed that way from then on. Another reason to consider this is that 4 of the 6 have skipped the last couple feedings. While I have the ability to keep everything alive, rats grow fast and it won't take too long before they are too big. Also, 3 of them are on hoppers, and they don't always live on their own, so I have had a couple of them die. If it matters, here is the breakdown of sizes:
0.1 Pewter 800 G
1.0 Pastel 600 G
0.1 Bumblebee 400 G
1.1 Het Pied 180 G
1.0 Mystic 130 G