RodentPro Review

Since switching over my collection to F/T (out of necessity due to no local live suppliers within 70 miles of Charlotte, NC), I've tried The Mouse Factory and Rodent Pro.

Rodent Pro's "Inventory Reduction Sale" yielded some attractive prices but overall I was less than impressed with the product. They arrived frozen solid with no problems, despite being shipped 2 day fedex in the height of the summer. The rats are not vacuum sealed and many have already started to show signs of freezer burn after just a week in my freezer. The non-vacuum sealed bags also do not lend themselves to compact storage, so right now a large portion of my freezer is occupied by bags of rats. The rats, when thawed, are clean for the most part, with the exception of a few pieces of frozen feces that made it through into the bags.

I think there's some leverage when it comes to cleanliness, as live rodents make a much larger mess in the tubs, especially if the snake doesn't get to it right away. I guess I expect frozen rodents to be more sterile than what you get from RodentPro.

The rats themselves all seem healthy and meaty, so no complaints there.

Compared to The Mouse Factory (vacuum sealed, immaculate), I'm torn between which supplier is "better." The mouse factory is almost twice as expensive, but the true test will be how the RodentPro rats fare over time in the freezer. If I end up having to throw away a number of them, it might offset the savings.

Just thought I'd share - and see if anyone else has had similar experiences.

Hey Brad!
I went all F/T about 2 mos ago. I used RodentPro. I like the product so far, the only gripe is the size variations. I order small rats and have gotten from Mediums to large weans in the bag. Other than that I love it and will never go back to live.

I buy my rats and rabbits from rodenpro. I think they're great!

Regardless of what company you buy from, investing in a vacuum sealer is tops! It saves you tons - not only on frozen rodents but also regular food. Yes, they cost a bit to get, but you can make that back really fast with consistent use. :)

I myself may be having to find a new rodent supplier if we move to the Northwest. I've been looking them over, and RodentPro looks cheapest so far. We'll have to see what happens. :)

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Regardless of what company you buy from, investing in a vacuum sealer is tops! It saves you tons - not only on frozen rodents but also regular food. Yes, they cost a bit to get, but you can make that back really fast with consistent use. :)

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Not a bad idea in theory, but the important part is that they are vacuum sealed BEFORE they are frozen.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

Not a bad idea in theory, but the important part is that they are vacuum sealed BEFORE they are frozen.

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They have to be partially frozen before they are vacuum sealed or fun stuff gets pulled out of both ends!

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Originally Posted by monk90222

They have to be partially frozen before they are vacuum sealed or fun stuff gets pulled out of both ends!

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So true, it's not a pretty sight. Bet you'd be REALLY pissed about the quality if they vacuum sealed it before they froze them. :P

Yep, I know. When I was breeding mice, I sealed the bag first...learned that lesson. :zerb:

What I meant, was that it's really helpful having a vacuum sealer to REseal the bags. I get my rodents in sealed bags as well. I take them out of those bags and place them into bags for my sealer with long ends for multiple resealings. The rodents last longer and stay 'fresher' that way. It also helps that I got a chest freezer recently. :D

I get feeders from RP exclusively.

I can attest to the variation in size differences, as well as the rats being covered in urine alot of times.

I just don't know where else to buy them, I buy em on sale, and get em delivered to a local show so I can save on shipping charges.

I've tried local people and EVERYTHING local comes from one supplier, and they're rats are infested with some sort of lice or bug.

RP works for me for now, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy from another company If i could find consistent good reviews on any single source.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

I get feeders from RP exclusively.

I can attest to the variation in size differences, as well as the rats being covered in urine alot of times.

I just don't know where else to buy them, I buy em on sale, and get em delivered to a local show so I can save on shipping charges.

I've tried local people and EVERYTHING local comes from one supplier, and they're rats are infested with some sort of lice or bug.

RP works for me for now, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy from another company If i could find consistent good reviews on any single source.

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I switched to Loxahatchee Rodents about six months ago. I had been with Big Cheese for awhile but they we're getting slow on the return calls.

Before that I had been with Rodent Pro but both their quality and service were spotty.

Loxahatchee has good quality, decent prices and they ship quickly. The only thing is that the shipping is a killer from coast to coast. I'd love to find someone on the left coast who has good service and a good product.

RP sucks IMO. I'll spare the story, but I tried them twice and was more than disappointed in them. Inexcusable sub par product.

I've since switched to Big Cheese, mostly because they're local so I can pick up in person and save on shipping costs. So far I've been 110% satisfied. I haven't had to order in several months from them, so if their customer service is starting to lag, that's a bummer. I really liked them.

At the store where I work, we recently switched from Big Cheese to Rodentpro, mainly because Big Cheese was supposed to ship our order, 'forgot' to ship it, and also 'forgot' to call us about it :colbert: (this was an order of hundreds of rats and mice). As a result we were dead out of frozen rodents for 4-5 days, not good!! We called RodentPro. They shipped when they were supposed to and got here when they were supposed to, so that's good. Big Cheese packages their rodents a lot nicer (vacuum sealed with styrofoam backing, like ground beef you'd buy at the grocery store) and the rodents seem 'cleaner' because of that, but it's hard to judge just from packaging whether the rats actually differ in quality. I also noticed the sizes seemed less uniform than Big Cheese- the mediums ranged from almost too big for my big ball pythons to eat to almost a small. However, we can't have our rodent supplier 'forget' to ship us rats, so we'll either be sticking with RodentPro or finding a different company that vacuum packs their rats and can remember our order!!