No options, must feed live... Nervous.

Also, Moot, I never ever see local feeders in my area of Craigslist. At least, none I like the quality of. There aren't too many folks with good husbandry for either their reptiles OR their rats in Philadelphia, at least none I've found yet.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

Also, Moot, I never ever see local feeders in my area of Craigslist. At least, none I like the quality of. There aren't too many folks with good husbandry for either their reptiles OR their rats in Philadelphia, at least none I've found yet.

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That sucks. I see em pretty frequently, but I'm in a big city so I guess that makes sense. If you can, see if there are any Facebook snake/reptile groups for your area. Many breed their own rats, and sell them both live and frozen in my group, usually for $2-3, which beats the crap outta pet store prices.

On the bright side, did my first ever feeding video!

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

On the bright side, did my first ever feeding video!

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It sounds like I might be too late, but I really wouldn't recommend feeding right before you are going to be gone. If there are any complications (regurge, etc.), you won't be there to handle it in a reasonable timeframe.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

It sounds like I might be too late, but I really wouldn't recommend feeding right before you are going to be gone. If there are any complications (regurge, etc.), you won't be there to handle it in a reasonable timeframe.

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=/ I didn't think of that... He's had zero issues in the past, and I'm pleased to report that Arctic Mice apparently now advertises Pups as Small Rats, so it's an appropriate size. Husbandry is spot-on, and i'll have my mom check in on him while I'm away.... I'm confident he'll be ok, but now naturally I'm nervous.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

=/ I didn't think of that... He's had zero issues in the past, and I'm pleased to report that Arctic Mice apparently now advertises Pups as Small Rats, so it's an appropriate size. Husbandry is spot-on, and i'll have my mom check in on him while I'm away.... I'm confident he'll be ok, but now naturally I'm nervous.

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As long as she's checking, I'm sure he will be fine. :)

When I order frozen (usually twice a year) I order the size I need plus the size I think I will need after a few months. If I have any feeders that are a bit under size I will double them up or add them to another size to equal the correct feeding ratio.

Even with high shipping charges it came out cheaper than buying from the big box stores. Use Rodentpro ( http://www.rodentpro.com/ ). Sign up for their mailing list and you will get discount coupons and what they call Hot Deals like small rats right now are $1.15 each. Between the coupon and the deals it works out much cheaper than buying local for me. My last two orders were each right over 100 feeders of various sizes and both had a average unit price of $2 and some change and that was including shipping charges.

Your real problem may be freezer space. I have a separate meat freezer that I fill about 3 cubic feet with rats each order. Think about how much space you have before you place a big order.

if you can pick up a small cricket tote small cooler and some dry ice from a grocery store you will have a CO2 chamber. Yes, putting them in the freezer will kill them but i would assume CO2 is more humane? dont know why they fall asleep either way.

Though personally i think that letting the snake strangle them for 20 seconds is more painful but faster so is that more humane than letting them gasp to death for a while? no idea.

Hey Arch,

Is there a Pets Plus out near Media? The closet one I can think of for you would be in KoP/Plymouth Meeting. They sell live if you need to hit up live again. Not sure if they sell frozen though.

Can't wait to see your video. :D


I'll second what you said about reptile/feeder husbandry. It seems the "good hobbyists" in the area are underground or I just don't know where to find them. Possibly a combination of both. :-/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8h0Aondlus
Here it is! Gosh I love his feeding response.

Pyrate, I don't think we have PetsPlus. There's a We Love Pets both in Media and in Springfield, and they do live, but not frozen. I don't think they'd be willing to prekill though. Like I said, as soon as I make a chamber, I'll be all set. (Especially since we're moving to a smaller apartment, and I won't have the luxury of a meat freezer there, buuuhhhh.)

I've joined two different Herp groups on Facebook that are local. Unjoined both almost immediately. They just make me unhappy.

(But if you're local we should get lunch. :D)