What do you do with your retired breeders?

I'm mostly looking for ideas of what species of snakes can eat full-sized retired breeder rats.

So far, I have always fed my BPs mice. With a relatively small feeder breeder operation, it made sense to stick with one species, and since I have both BPs and corns, mice were a better species for me to breed. However, that is gradually changing as I get more snakes, the snakes I have grow, and I'm looking forward to buying more and breeding my own soon. So I expect within the next year or so I may start breeding rats as well as mice.

One thing I'm wondering is what to do with the retired breeder rats, who will be too large for both corns and BPs. I know I could probably get rid of them on craigslist, but I've been interested in expanding the number of species I have anyway, so this sounds like a good excuse to get something bigger. :P I was thinking I might get something like an RTB or a blood python, but I'm not really sure how big a snake has to be to take a full-sized retired breeder rat.

Suggestions, please?

RTB's are disposals

I honestly wouldnt get a boa JUST because you want to get rid of your retired breeders......

I got a blood python for that very reason. the good thing about bloods is they are kept fairly similar to ball pythons a little cooler and a little higher humidity. Also they don't get too terribly big. they also have a slower metabolism and need fed less often. the only problem is that now I don't breed my own and I have to order XXL rats just for her.

contact local pet shop...tell them the situation...many times you can get store credit for them...

I feed them to my boas.

I have a really enormous female who can take most of them, but every once in a while there are some big bucks too huge even for her. At the moment, I am freezing them...probably give to someone in the local herp club. lol

I breed BCIs so I have no problems getting rid of any rats. There isn't a regular rat (not one of those giant pouched mongos) that my female boas can't eat.

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Originally Posted by ARpythons

I got a blood python for that very reason. the good thing about bloods is they are kept fairly similar to ball pythons a little cooler and a little higher humidity. Also they don't get too terribly big. they also have a slower metabolism and need fed less often. the only problem is that now I don't breed my own and I have to order XXL rats just for her.

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My son wanted a black blood and I thought it was the perfect solution. She will soon be big enough to take the retired breeders.

I have a local pet store that is always willing to take xxL and jumbos. He usually trades me a couple smalls for each one I bring in.

I have one large female BP that will take the smaller retired female rats without any problems.

My problem is with very large females and males.

The options for me are local herpers with larger snakes and the exotic pet store near me, and that's about it, I have a Blood but he is a late 08 so not big enough yet.

I think your best options are trying to find a local herper that might need large and x-large rats.

Getting a boa if you were planning on it anyway is not a bad idea just don't get one just for the purpose of disposing of your feeder and remember that is you do it will be a few years before he can take down your retired breeders.

Thanks for the responses everybody!

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

I honestly wouldnt get a boa JUST because you want to get rid of your retired breeders......

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It isn't "just" to get rid of breeder rats, as I thought I had indicated in the sentence below. I've actually been wanting to expand my collection in terms of the number of species I have for quite some time. Some of the bigger species I am considering are RTBs, carpet pythons, blood pythons, woma and/or black headed pythons, and beauty snakes. Not to mention several smaller species and several lizard species. If I could ever decide on just one, I'd probably have it already!

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Originally Posted by kc261

I know I could probably get rid of them on craigslist, but I've been interested in expanding the number of species I have anyway, so this sounds like a good excuse to get something bigger. :P

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Sell them, give them away if they are nice, c02 tank and freeze for a rainy day.

My retic is gonna soon out grow my retired breeder rats. He does say thank you for retiring the big girls though. Except for the fact that he bit my chin yesterday. But the best idea I've heard is put them to sleep and freeze them. All of my big breeder bp's eat them too.