Need Feeder Rats

Anyone know where I can get feeder rats in the WV/MD/VA area? Petco is killing me! lol

try looking to see when the next reptile expo is going to be near your area. That way you can dodge the shipping prices of buying online. I myself just went the breeding route. I like having the option of feeding prey that is the exact size I want and not being hit over the head with crazy prices. The petsmart near me was charging 11 bucks for a box of 4 small artic mice :rolleye2:
I'd rather be able to reach into my my breeding tubs and yank out a nice healthy rat that I know was takin care of.... Plus I get bored and breeding is pretty fun lol

Coldbloodaddict has an add in the for sale section for Live rats. Looks like he is in Va.

Thanks!!...I'm afraid that if I breed them I might get attached to them :( lol

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Originally Posted by BlissfulChaos

Thanks!!...I'm afraid that if I breed them I might get attached to them :( lol

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Haha, just keep telling yourself "Rats are for food, not for fun" Besides, when you breed your own, you know what your snakes are getting health wise.

Buying rats definitely does get expensive, and finding just the right size is challenging to do, unless you breed your own. I finally decided to start breeding my own this summer, and I am so glad I did. I started my little colony with two females from Petco and a male I got from a friend. In a little over a month I had two litters of 14 each. I kept several females and fed off the rest. This week the baby females I held back all had their own first litters, and their moms have each had another one. I just can't believe how quickly they can reproduce!

Besides the money savings, what I really appreciate about having my own rat colony is that you can get your ball pythons just the right size and avoid having the feed the little ones mice ever. The other thing that has been great about always having the right size of live rats available is that I have been able to transition the majority of my ball python collection to prekilled and then to frozen / thawed this summer. Starting them with smaller freshly prekilled really seems to work much better than just introducing a frozen / thawed rat, which goes to waste if they don't take it. If nobody takes a prekilled, it can just go in the freezer for later, and you don't feel bad about wasting it. For my remaining three ball pythons that only want live, I always conveniently have the right size of live for them and will continue working with them on transitioning to prekilled. My goal for the summer is to get them all transtioned off of feeding live, though.... and it is certainly looking hopeful now!

Thanks for all the great info! I'm really considering breeding because I have friends with balls and boas that I know would love to find a deal....So my question is...Can I use the plastic tubs to kee the rats in or will they chew through it. I''m so afraid they will chew right threw it and get loose lol....If so, what size tubs should I get?

Also, How would I pre-kill before feeding? The previous owner said she would eat f/t or live and I've been feeding live because I wanted to get her schedule down before trying f/t...THen again I'm afraid she'll refuse and it will go to waste....I've only had her for 2 weeks and she fed great last week with a med size live rat and tonight she is due to eat again. So I'm going to offer her live and if she takes it I think I'll try switching to prekilled or f/t....I just don't want the lil buggers to bite my girl! lol

I have been keeping my 1.2 breeders in 58QT Sterilite Storage tubs that I get at Wal-Mart. I ended up just using my soldering iron to put enough holes in the tubs for proper ventilation, but you can also cut out the sides and top lid and use wire mesh to give ventilation as others here have done. I have had no escapes due to chewing out of the tubs.

I have not tried the big tubs with the rats. I just use large glass aquariums with screen lids that sit on top, so chewing is never an issue and ventilation is fine. They get aspen bedding, just like my snakes.

As far as pre-killing rats, the easy way is to double grocery bag the rat, tie up the bag and then give it a good whack against the wall. I know it sounds a little brutal, but is completely instant with no mess at all.... faster death than it would have being constricted by the python. If that sounds too brutal, though, you can set up a CO2 chamber for euthanizing them. I have not tried it, but I bet a search on this site would tell you exactly how to set one up.