Rodentpro

does anyone have any experience ordering from redentpro?

Thursday, I got over 340 rodents in from them, this was my third order from them. Animals have no problems eating the food. Delivery is good, items packed well. Prices are reasonable. Every so often you will pull out a rat or mouse with a busted limb but that is a bit expected when they are frozen solid and shipped from out of state.

Beware though, shipping will set you back at least 45 bucks for one box because of the weight and dry ice (which is a harzard material). I am happy with rodent pro. I have had no problems with them.

If you are feeding one or two snakes, I recomend buying in bulk localy either live and freeze your self or if they have frozen get it from them. A few animals, maybe raise your own rodents. If you got a lot of animals, Rodent pro may be the ticket

moved to the appropriate forum.

I prefer http://bigcheeserodents.com because they vacuum package everything. RodentPro simply puts them all in one big bag. You need to be cautious about freezer burn.

My last Rodent Pro order was horrible. Like Nate mentioned...freezer burn can be an issue with them all bagged together, also the rodents were soaked in urine...and when thawed over half my order fell apart into a nice soupy mixture.

Rodent Pro did however send replacements, since they thought they may have at one point thawed and refrozen, but the quality of the new ones were about the same...

I will be going with Big Cheese here on out.

I have ordered from rodentpro.com at least 5 times now. I have giants so I need rabbits as well as rats for my savannas and corns. I have had success with them and my only complaint is that just about every bag leaks. That sucks when you want to quick thaw in water, but I have adapted. Their rabbits are among the best I have seen. I used to get them from the reptile shows around here but the quality is much better from rodentpro.

Rodent Pro's sizes are awesome... they are completely what i expect =]
i got some from somewhere else... cant remember where... but i will never order from them again, their weaned rats were the same size as the smalls... and compared to the few i had left from rodent pro... it looked like the other place just gave me more weaned... lol

So, is bigcheese pretty good? I only have two snakes, but where I live, it's hard to get frozen mice in the right size, also it's $10 for only two of them. Tonight was the first time I tried feeding my snakes f/t, and they both ate with no hesitation. I decided to switch from live to f/t because it's getting hard trying to get time to drive 30-40 min durring times that they are open to get mice. So I want to keep frozen on hand, just to make it simple.

You could always get a pair of rats and breed them, let the baby rats get to the size you need and freeze them for later. To keep the rats from reproducing and dumping a load of rats on you that you can't use, just keep them seperated

That's not an option for me. I would become attatched too easily, then they would be strictly pets. I can't help that. It's hard for me to even feed the ones I buy from the store. I care too much.

Is bigcheese a better option?

If you only have two snakes, then I would say yes because your rats/mice will come vacuum packaged.

We're in Plano, and absolutely love Big Cheese. We mainly raise our own mice, but once every six or so months, we'll deplete the stock, drive to Ft. Worth and pick up a couple hundred from them to keep the genetics clean.

We don't feed F/T, so I can't comment on that directly, but I've been to the facility a number of times, and have never had a problem with their stock.

americanrodent.com


I used to order from rodent pro but I also got a lot of out of stock problems with them. Which to be honest gets real annoying when you go back to order what you need on the date they told you the week before they would have more and then they say they are out of stock again till the next week. I guess you just have to hit them at the right time.

I order from Brian at americanrodent.com and have had no problems so far. The quality of the rodents are clean and have good size to them. I would certainly reccoment them.

but that's just my 2 cents

Now that I compare prices from americanrodent.com and bigcheese.com, big cheese has way better prices.hmmm

And I like this whole vaccum packed idea, I might try them next.:)

My first order with them was great, with great customer service, the second not so great the feeders were small and dirty, I than switch to American Rodent Supply http://www.americanrodent.com/welcome.html both orders were great (Clean healthy properly sized rodent.)

about this freezer burn that was said earlier in this thread:

When does freezer burn occur? I have rodents that I've had for around a month in the freezer, should I be watching for it?

How can I prevent it? and how can I tell if they start to get freezer burn?

And does it ruin the rodent for a healthy meal for the snake?

And this is the last question I promise:
With Big cheese using this vaccum packaging, that is great for only the shipping to your house correct, unless you have your own device which you can vaccum shut the bags each time you open them. So my question is how good is this vaccuming technique?

I live in Waco and order from Big Cheese once a month or so. I got 275 live mice last time and they are all fat and healthy. They give you a few extra just in case one gets overheated in transport and dies(it happens.. It IS Texas). Their live prices are the same as their frozen prices. I have ordered frozen from them before and they are all well-fleshed, clean, lined up neatly on the meat trays, and vacuum-packed. They don't smell either when thawed.

Oh! And Big Cheese also sells rabbits, but they aren't on the site. They are $2.25/lb regardless of what size. They come individually wrapped and vacuum-packed. They are always very good sized, healthy, clean, and don't smell whatsoever when you thaw them out. My boa Sonja loves them.

I wish someone other than Rodent Pro came to our local show. I don't have anything shipped since the cost is too much. With me Rodent Pro is hit or miss so I cannot honestly recommend them. For the time being, I am just sticking to live- am paying just a little more than I would for Rodent Pro pick up.

Edit* If Big Cheese vacuum packs, I would def choose them over Rodent Pro- freezer burn is a little too common.

I am definately going to try bigcheese after my american rodent supply is done. I like the sound of that vaccum packing.

I went to bigcheese and sent an e-mail asking for a price quote and I haven't recieved anything back. How long does that usually take?

Here's my 2¢: I hate rodent pro. I ordered from them twice and both times were disasters. After the first time I thought it was a fluke so I gave them a 2nd chance; same thing. So I switched to Big Cheese Rodents. They're awesome. Vacuum packed, nice big healthy animals, (plus they're local for me so I save on shipping). Even when I move away for school, I'll continue to order from big cheese.

I've also heard great things about The Mouse Factory, though I have never personally ordered from them.

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Originally Posted by Elvyra's Keeper

I went to bigcheese and sent an e-mail asking for a price quote and I haven't recieved anything back. How long does that usually take?

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Just try calling them maybe. That's what I do; never emailed them before. Plus with the holiday weekend that could be a reason?

yeah, that's what I was thinking. I've been searching online for other places to order from, but bigcheese has had the best prices/quality(flash freeze and vacuume sealing), so I'm really leaning towards sticking with them, as long as their shipping prices are reasonable. I'm really hoping they are because I only live about 2 1/2 hours aways from them.

But I've never seen The Mouse Factory, so I'm going to check them out too. Thanks for the advice.

I've ordered from both Big Cheese and Rodent Factory and was very pleased with both places. I'd say my phone experience was more pleasant with Rodent Factory, and the mice are GORGEOUS-looking--very clean. Both vaccum-pack their rodents and got my mice to me without problems. I'd say that the RF mice were cleaner and nicer-looking, but the BC mice weren't bad-looking. I've seen some F/T from PetCo, and I felt guilty feeding them to Auryn because of the poor quality. I'd order from BC or RF without hesitation! Good product, good prices, good service all around.

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Originally Posted by Elvyra's Keeper

But I've never seen The Mouse Factory, so I'm going to check them out too. Thanks for the advice.

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A ton of people at www.cornsnakes.com swear by them that they're the best for ordering feeders from. Like I've said, never personally tried them, but haven't heard a single bad thing about htem.

Elvyra, if you ever need mice and I'm making a trip up to Dallas, I can pick them up for you. You can always meet me in Lorena or something. That would save you alot on shipping. I'll probably end up going the second week of April.

I haven't ordered from Rodentpro, but since someone brought up The Mouse Factory I'm going to add my :twocents: about them. I got a pack of rat fuzzies and they were all pretty much perfect and clean except for one broken arm (understandable, I think). And it was all vacuum-packed.

I still cannot get my hatchling to take the F/T (and yes, I've read everything on here and tried EVERYTHING even the brain thing...ew) so they've just been hanging out in my freezer, grossing off my friends for about a month :D

Edit to ask: Does anyone know of a rodent breeder around or in Atlanta (50-75 miles out)? I'd like to make a drive to go buy a lot of them to save on shipping if I can ever get Squiggles to eat them.

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Originally Posted by cutemouse

I still cannot get my hatchling to take the F/T (and yes, I've read everything on here and tried EVERYTHING even the brain thing...ew) so they've just been hanging out in my freezer, grossing off my friends for about a month :D

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I'm in the same situation with Auryn. Except he was eating F/T for almost a year, abruptly stopped eating...and I tried for weeks, tossing out my Rodent Factory mice because he wasn't having anything to do with the F/T. I tried a live one on a hunch and he went for it immediately. He's going to get live for awhile until I've put some size on him, then we're going to try for F/T again.

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Originally Posted by firehop

I have ordered from rodentpro.com at least 5 times now. I have giants so I need rabbits as well as rats for my savannas and corns. I have had success with them and my only complaint is that just about every bag leaks. That sucks when you want to quick thaw in water, but I have adapted. Their rabbits are among the best I have seen. I used to get them from the reptile shows around here but the quality is much better from rodentpro.

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Swapping rodents to a new bag didn't help me with the leak problem. Rats have very sharp nails, so I don't think we can blame RodentPro.

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Originally Posted by blueapplepaste

Here's my 2¢: I hate rodent pro. I ordered from them twice and both times were disasters. After the first time I thought it was a fluke so I gave them a 2nd chance; same thing. So I switched to Big Cheese Rodents. They're awesome. Vacuum packed, nice big healthy animals, (plus they're local for me so I save on shipping). Even when I move away for school, I'll continue to order from big cheese.

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I've ordered around 8 boxes of rats from RodentPro and they were always in great shape, but that vacuum sealing sounds like a big improvement.

Rodentpro pales drastically when compared to the quality and cleanliness of The Mouse Factory. They are not the cheapest place, but their rodents are fed quality feed and are clean and healthier!!!

I've ordered 4 times from RodentPro. I would say that every time I've been at least "satisfied" with the order, on 1 of the occasions I was extremely happy. First, someone here mentioned big cheese is cheaper...last I checked their large rats were over $.40 more per rat than rodentpro? That could be a huge difference if you have a lot of breeder females.

Also, vacuum sealers are down pretty cheap now. I could order from RP and do that myself. At $.40 difference per large rat, it would take about 100 large rats to make up this cost.

I would say most of the rats from RP have some feces in with them. I don't really understand why this happens, and I have talked to them multiple times about this. If it happens in the euthanizing process can't they shake them off before freezing? If it happens after they get frozen, then freeze them, shake them, and repack them. This still baffles me. It seems like this small change would be a massive improvement to rodent quality.

A few times my rodents from RP have been on the small side, but this last time they were HUGE. I was really happy.

Although I can't comment on any other place, I would say my experience with RP has been: cost-effective combined with satisfactory (occasionally great) quality feeder animals.

Just my 2 cents.

JonV

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Elvyra, if you ever need mice and I'm making a trip up to Dallas, I can pick them up for you. You can always meet me in Lorena or something. That would save you alot on shipping. I'll probably end up going the second week of April.

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Thank you so much for the offer. It is greatly appreciated. I think I'm going to try ordering first and see how well that goes, but if I have a problem, I just might take you up on your offer.

I got my quote back from BigCheese and it's about $55. I'm ordering 50 weenlings. Does that sound reasonable. I've noticed most people have been commenting on RodentPro and The Mouse Factory. Does anyone have any experiences with BigCheese?

50 weanling what? If rats, yes, if mice, I have no idea. Medium adult mice are only 45 cents apiece, and frozen are the same price. Hope you didn't get weanling mice for a Ball :)

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Originally Posted by Elvyra's Keeper

Does anyone have any experiences with BigCheese?

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They're all I use. I'm 110% satisfied. Leaps and bounds better than rodent pro

Blue, I know you were looking for a live supplier. Why not just go pick up live from their facility? I know it's a $25 minimum, but maybe they'd work with you. The facility is just on E Seminary, which isn't too far from Denton.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

50 weanling what? If rats, yes, if mice, I have no idea. Medium adult mice are only 45 cents apiece, and frozen are the same price. Hope you didn't get weanling mice for a Ball :)

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What's wrong with feeding weenling mice to a ball? I feed two at a time. I've tried larger, but she was afraid of it. Next time I feed I'm going to try 3. I'll try larger again later.

Weanling mice are just small, and are really only saved for just-hatched Ball Pythons. Why not try for 1 medium adult? I have a barely 200g Spider female, and even with her half-as-long neck that she has, she takes down medium and large mice no problems.

What is your method for feeding? Does she do better on live? Feeding too small of prey on a consistent basis can lead to stunted growth. What is her enclosure like?

all of my feedings except one has been live. I just tried frozen the last time I fed her and had no problems at all. When I tried feeding her a larger mouse, she was afraid of it. She just curled up in a ball, she ran away from it. She wanted nothing to do with it. It was live, so next time I feed I'm going to try a larger frozen mouse and see how she reacts to it.

I'm just really worried about feeding something too large after that. I felt really bad for scaring her.

I've order from Big Cheese and was very happy with my order. The vacuum sealed trays fit nicely in my fridge and occupy less room than my rodentpro orders. I've also had a shipment from rodent pro come covered in urine; thats what sparked me trying big cheese. I placed my order over the phone and they shipped it the next day; I was very satisfied when it arrived.

So, what would you guys suggest fedding her (in grams)?

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...3-25-08001.jpg

Medium adult mouse or larger, 25-35g.

That's why I asked how she is housed. If she doesn't feel secure, then she'll feel intimidated by normal size prey. My babies that size are in 6qt or 15 qt tubs and they come shooting out of the tubs for their mice. If her enclosure is any bigger than a 10g, then she likely doesn't feel secure enough or safe enough to spend the time eating a larger prey item.

She doesn't show any signs of being insecure in her enclosure. She goes from the warm to cool side, she drinks water. She's not skiddish or shy.

i like rodent pro. they are a bit expensive i guess for shipping, but i love the fact that you can get chicks and rabbits along with rats. chicks are like 15 cents and weigh the same as a small rat!

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Blue, I know you were looking for a live supplier. Why not just go pick up live from their facility? I know it's a $25 minimum, but maybe they'd work with you. The facility is just on E Seminary, which isn't too far from Denton.

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Well I work in Denton, but live in Lewisville, so from Denton to Big Cheese, back to my house would be about 2 hrs of driving just for a couple of feeders. With gas being what it is; I wouldn't end up saving anything, so it's just not worth it. Heck, even making that drive a few times a year for frozen feeders wears me out! Can't imagine doing it every week.

LOL, very true. I go once per month or so and get around 200-275 live mice. It's worth it to me because Petco is the only supplier of feeders here and mice, TINY ones, are $2.29 now.. I don't think so..

yeah, at petsmart here, it's $12 for 2 frozen mice

I just want to add an update:

I reviewed the prices on bigcheese rodents vs rodentpro. Much to my surprise, BCR is CHEAPER than RP for all rats up through size large. I don't know about shipping, but I am now definitely considering bigcheese for my next order.

JonV

Even if the prices were comparable, BCR would take the cake for me just because of the vacuum sealed packages. You won't be dissappointed :gj:

I just tried feeding her a large mouse and she was interested, flicking her tongue, slowly moving closer, and closer, then, turned around and ignored it. I can't get her to eat anything larger than a weenling. what do I do?

How are you feeding her(in her enclosure or in a separate tub)? She's not kept with another snake, is she? What are her temps and humidity like, hides? Was she eating live before, and was it consistent? At her age, she should be pounding the food, so something is off in her husbandry. She also may just prefer live. You can always try to switch at a later date. Your main objective is to help her to feel secure and to eat on a consistent basis. F/t may just not be her cup of tea.

All 45 of mine eat live, and they do quite well for themselves.