Feeder Rodent Businesses Closing?

I used to breed all of my own rodents for years and I can tell you it's a major PITA, if you don't have the time to keep up with it properly your productivity can go WAY down. Eventually I was spending more time babysitting rodents then I was spending with my snakes. I just got so sick of spending so much of my valuble time cleaning/feeding and watering feeders that I ended up getting rid of most of my rodents and now I just buy frozen. Yes the prices have gotten ridiculous, but I'd rather have the extra time. I do still keep a few colonies of mice for hoppers to feed my babies, and a couple colonies of rats for those stubborn live feeders, but mostly I'm enjoying being a little poorer but with more time on my hands.

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Originally Posted by PatriotPythons

Has anyone ever bought frozen jumbos and thawed them out to find out that they had their throats slit? I won't say all, because I can't verify it, but a lot of those rats are from labs. They experiment on them, then they give the carcasses away if you know who to talk to. These rats are very often sold as feeders at reptile shows. Its not cool in my book, but I don't have to live with the guilt of doing it because I don't do it.

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May I ask where these rats came from? I'd like to find out which labs they came from.
I work in a research lab and it is illegal to resell laboratory rats as feeders. All research subjects must be terminated humanely (Co2, cervical dislocation, or anesthesia overdose) at the end of a study, then processed as bio hazard waste (usually burned). That is seriously a violation of public safety and should be reported.

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Originally Posted by PatriotPythons

I had a whole big long post typed out, but its not worth posting. If you guys want to kill the messenger than so be it.

Just remember, I didn't name names. I didn't call anyone out. I just pointed out what I've seen with my own two eyes.

I went out to Pennsylvania dutch country a few years back to buy a guy out of rats. He was keeping them on turkey bedding, about the dirtiest pine known to man, and all he fed them was hard corn. That is not an isolated incident. It happens all over the place.

Has anyone ever bought frozen jumbos and thawed them out to find out that they had their throats slit? I won't say all, because I can't verify it, but a lot of those rats are from labs. They experiment on them, then they give the carcasses away if you know who to talk to. These rats are very often sold as feeders at reptile shows. Its not cool in my book, but I don't have to live with the guilt of doing it because I don't do it.

Its a thankless industry and highly competitive and people cut corners all the time for the sake of making an extra ten cents per rat.

I am at full production if I have 180 pairs running. That would be 30 racks full of rats for me. I don't venture into the sales end because of what I have seen. I could never compete with the factory farms.

I thank you guys for your concern, but please don't shoot the messenger. I'm not the bad guy here.

I breed just enough rats to feed my retics and supply a few close friends with food for their snakes, bird, dogs etc and some people do buy rats from me as pets. I only breed them in pairs. I probably do it the least cost efficient way that there is LOL, but I like to keep track of the production and improve the species while I am at it.

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So you are saying that almost all (big) feeder breeders cut corners and do not provide their animals with what they need, based off of seeing a handful of opperations!? opperations which you won't even name? I haven't heard these accusations concering any of the top dogs before, so yes, I would think that small opperations might cut corners to try and out-do the top dogs. But that is why they don't stay around very long.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

May I ask where these rats came from? I'd like to find out which labs they came from.
I work in a research lab and it is illegal to resell laboratory rats as feeders. All research subjects must be terminated humanely (Co2, cervical dislocation, or anesthesia overdose) at the end of a study, then processed as bio hazard waste (usually burned). That is seriously a violation of public safety and should be reported.

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A batch of frozen mice I bought one time all had numerical tattoos on their tails.

I don't know where they came from originally and I got them from some guy at an expo as my regular supplier had no rodents to sell.

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Originally Posted by Salamander

A batch of frozen mice I bought one time all had numerical tattoos on their tails.

I don't know where they came from originally and I got them from some guy at an expo as my regular supplier had no rodents to sell.

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I wonder where they came from.

Though we don't use tattoos to mark animals. Usually we do ear notches or ear tags. Notches in certain places of the ear is a specific number. I guess the tats are a clue. I'll ask my supervisor about it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

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Originally Posted by Salamander

A batch of frozen mice I bought one time all had numerical tattoos on their tails.

I don't know where they came from originally and I got them from some guy at an expo as my regular supplier had no rodents to sell.

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I have heard of some small rodent hobbyists tattooing their animals. Idea being it would be easier to identify them and/or harder to prevent theft/forgery of paperwork. Not sure how well that worked out for them, but just came to mind when you mentioned this. I have no idea what labs do, since the only lab I have worked in had spiders not rodents.

I can confirm that some of the biggest reptile breeders source rats from laboratory leftovers.

What exactly are the rules pertaining to laboratory specimens? I would imagine that they frequently have excess stock that they need to get rid of that have never been used in tests but I'd be pretty upset to get rodents that have been exposed to some disease pathogens or given injections of some experimental drug.

Hi,

I'd have hoped the only ones distributed would have been the control group?


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PatriotPythons

I had a whole big long post typed out, but its not worth posting. If you guys want to kill the messenger than so be it.

Just remember, I didn't name names. I didn't call anyone out. I just pointed out what I've seen with my own two eyes.

I went out to Pennsylvania dutch country a few years back to buy a guy out of rats. He was keeping them on turkey bedding, about the dirtiest pine known to man, and all he fed them was hard corn. That is not an isolated incident. It happens all over the place.

Has anyone ever bought frozen jumbos and thawed them out to find out that they had their throats slit? I won't say all, because I can't verify it, but a lot of those rats are from labs. They experiment on them, then they give the carcasses away if you know who to talk to. These rats are very often sold as feeders at reptile shows. Its not cool in my book, but I don't have to live with the guilt of doing it because I don't do it.

Its a thankless industry and highly competitive and people cut corners all the time for the sake of making an extra ten cents per rat.

I am at full production if I have 180 pairs running. That would be 30 racks full of rats for me. I don't venture into the sales end because of what I have seen. I could never compete with the factory farms.

I thank you guys for your concern, but please don't shoot the messenger. I'm not the bad guy here.

I breed just enough rats to feed my retics and supply a few close friends with food for their snakes, bird, dogs etc and some people do buy rats from me as pets. I only breed them in pairs. I probably do it the least cost efficient way that there is LOL, but I like to keep track of the production and improve the species while I am at it.

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This just doesn't sound right. Or maybe it's a little right, but not to the degree you seem to be implying. I have never, in decades of rodent feeding, seen a rat with its throat cut. That I'd like some proof of before I actually believe it.

Not everyone is just shoveling rat crap to make a dime more. Some do it the best they can, this I personally know. I also know that it IS a crappy business with some really reprehensible people in it, which is why I am willing to believe what you say provided you produce some proof. Short of that, sounds a lot like sour grapes to me.