Am I being charged more than normal?
I buy my rats from my local reptile hobbyist store (that I like to support even if they're sometimes over-priced). I was just wondering, is this a normal price for rats or would I be better off buying somewhere else?
It's $5 per small frozen rat. This means I'm spending $100 dollars every 4-5 months on feeding my 1 Ball Python. I would of course pay that if necessary, just wondering if it's usually cheaper for you guys?
They're definetly cheaper than petco/petsmart, that's for sure.
Re: Am I being charged more than normal?
I usually buy 25 at a time, and pay about 2 bucks each for small rats. With shipping would be about 3 if that was all I was buying, but I pick them up at the expo to save on shipping
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Re: Am I being charged more than normal?
That seems very expensive. We order bulk online through Perfect Prey, which charges $1.95 per small rat. Shipping has been a bit more than $30 each time, but it's worth it if you're buying in bulk. I can't say enough good things about the quality of their rodents.
Re: Am I being charged more than normal?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bcr229
Now that said, if your ball python is large enough to take a medium rat and it's a pet, not something like a breeder female that just laid eggs so she's super hungry, then your snake doesn't need to eat every week. You may find it more cost-effective to feed a medium rat every 2-3 weeks than a small rat every week.
My male BP just switched over to small rats a few weeks ago (one of my price concerns since weaned was $4 and small is $5. I bought five and it was around $32. Yikes!) In Septemeber there's also an expo so I might see if it's any cheaper there. And I've calculated that buying $100 worth of small rats at the reptile store will last 4-5 months, and ordering $100 worth of small rats from online will last around 11 months.. it's very tempting..
Re: Am I being charged more than normal?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
55fingers
My male BP just switched over to small rats a few weeks ago (one of my price concerns since weaned was $4 and small is $5. I bought five and it was around $32. Yikes!) In Septemeber there's also an expo so I might see if it's any cheaper there. And I've calculated that buying $100 worth of small rats at the reptile store will last 4-5 months, and ordering $100 worth of small rats from online will last around 11 months.. it's very tempting..
Except over the next 11 months your snake will likely have a hunger strike because he'll want to go find a girlfriend this winter. Also unless they're vacuum-sealed whole prey only lasts about six months in the freezer.
I would look up the vendor list for the expo and see who is selling feeders. Some will let you pre-order and pick them up. I would only get six months worth because your BP should be big enough for mediums after that.
Re: Am I being charged more than normal?
I wouldn't buy in bulk unless the rats are vacuum packed, as they are from perfect prey. Otherwise, they can lose nutritional value before you can use them all.
$5 for a small rat?! Wow! I pay $2 for the same from my local snake store.