Feeder Source

I placed my first ever frozen mouse order and it was to FEEDER SOURCE. They charged me $44 and some change for shipping. I'm looking at my tracking info and they shipped it fedex ground. Am I wrong thinking the amount charged is excessive for ground shipping?

***i noticed after posting that I mistakenly directed this complaint at rodent pro. It should have been directed at feeder source and I don't see how I can change the title of the message.

Changed the title for you. You have to remember that included in the shipping cost are materials to keep your rodents frozen in transit. That said, it does seem a little higher than some of the competition.

The shipping costs for frozen feeders are competitive, i would look around for local breeders or another site if $ 44 is a little steep for you. I would recommend if you have the space to get a dedicated freezer for your feeders so when you do have to order you do so in bulk to stretch your dollar.

Another alternative is to breeder your own rodents. Many people do this to have an on hand stock of fresh rats. Rat breeding can be a very rewarding and interesting hobby in addition to keeping snakes and i highly recommend it if you can. It might not be cost or labor effective in your case but still a lot of fun.

There is an enormous amount of information about making cheap rat racks, cages, ect. to make getting started a little easier if you decide to take that route.

Feeders typically come in a thick Styrofoam cooler with dry ice. Shipping isn't cheap. It's even higher in the warmer months when it has to go two-day due to the hot temperatures.

If you don't want to breed your own find a local source, some private breeders are happy to sell off their extras.

Or if you're not ready to take the plunge into breeding your own and/or don't have the number of snakes to make it worth while, find someone local who breeds. Check your state's reptile FB pages.

$44 is pretty high. $25-30 is what I used to pay when I bought F/T.

I guess it depends on how many feeders you ordered. It's a bit more than I pay but there are places that charge more. I usually get my feeders from Big Cheese or Perfect Prey and they both charge about $29 for shipping.

I ordered 25 pinky mice. I can't order too much at one time right now because all of my snakes are very young and I don't want them to outgrow the prey and have a bunch of them left that are too small. I already have 40 or so 15g mice in the freezer that will hold the 2 bp and the new cp for a while which I picked up at the repticon show here. The pinkys are for the two young corn snakes I have. One of the two is to be delivered today. I should get better at ordering more efficiently after I get a feel for my guy's growth rate. Raising my own rodents is a no go.
So bottom line is the amount charged reasonable?
thanks? Dean

If you only ordered (25) pinkys then I'd definitely say you paid too much for shipping.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

If you only ordered (25) pinkys then I'd definitely say you paid too much for shipping.

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You would think so, but the seller needs to fill empty space in the Styrofoam box with dry ice. Pinkies in particular can't get at all warm, they're so tiny they thaw and would go bad very quickly.

@ BCR- I guess my point is that for only 25 pinkys you're paying more for shipping than for the cost of the feeders. I always order enough so that the shipping cost are reasonable in proportion to the size of the order. I ordered well over $200 worth of rats, mice, chicks, and ASFs and only paid $29 for shipping.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

@ BCR- I guess my point is that for only 25 pinkys you're paying more for shipping than for the cost of the feeders. I always order enough so that the shipping cost are reasonable in proportion to the size of the order. I ordered well over $200 worth of rats, mice, chicks, and ASFs and only paid $29 for shipping.

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i see what you are saying. When all of these guys get to a point where they are not growing so rapidly or i just get a better feel for their growth rate i will be able to order more quantity per order and that will take the bite out of the shipping charges.

When I had 1-2 snakes and was buying F/T I bought a bunch of pups and weaned rats and maybe a month or two worth of small rats at the same time. At the time they were on pups. Anytime they made it to the next size before they finished the smaller size, they got fed two of them to make up for the smaller size.

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Originally Posted by Marrissa

When I had 1-2 snakes and was buying F/T I bought a bunch of pups and weaned rats and maybe a month or two worth of small rats at the same time. At the time they were on pups. Anytime they made it to the next size before they finished the smaller size, they got fed two of them to make up for the smaller size.

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Good idea. I'll have to try to figure out these projections on future orders. I'm still trying to get a feel of their growth rate but I think that it will be pretty fast with regular feelings. I'm in the middle of a learning process here.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

@ BCR- I guess my point is that for only 25 pinkys you're paying more for shipping than for the cost of the feeders. I always order enough so that the shipping cost are reasonable in proportion to the size of the order. I ordered well over $200 worth of rats, mice, chicks, and ASFs and only paid $29 for shipping.

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Oh yeah I hear that. For 25 pinkies I'd look for a local source, even at $29 shipping you're paying too much. I think my last online order was over $400.

I do the same thing Marissa. I'll buy a few of the prey sizes they're currently eating and the next 2 larger prey sizes that the snakes will grow into. If they outgrow one prey size and I still have undersized feeders I double up on the smaller ones.

@ Terminal- You'll get the feeder ordering process down pat in no time. You can always get more snakes to eat the ones your others outgrow :D. I bought (50) mice fuzzys, (50) rat fuzzys, and a few rat pups to get my jungle and coastal started. Well they outgrew those in no time. I've still got about (20) of each of those left. The jungle is on rat weaners and the coastal is on small/medium rats. I had no other choice but to get a Bredl to clean up the leftovers. ;)

I've found that even with shipping costs (at least with Big Cheese), you still come out ahead vs. buying locally (where the supply is usually limited or sporadic). As an example, a local pet supply store charges around $2.25 for an adult mouse. If I buy 50, I pay around $100 (even with a discount). If I have the same quantity shipped from BC, I pay around $64.

Another thing I've found is that Feeder Source F/T mice or rats bought directly at my semi-annual Reptile show aren't really priced much less than what I'd pay having the same quantity shipped from BC (which actually categorizes prey items a bit more high in weight in grams per category). The packaging is much, much better as well.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I do the same thing Marissa. I'll buy a few of the prey sizes they're currently eating and the next 2 larger prey sizes that the snakes will grow into. If they outgrow one prey size and I still have undersized feeders I double up on the smaller ones.

I'm already going to have to double up the small pinkies as I think they could be able to take at least a large pinky right now and I'm waiting on the small pinky order some time today.:( After eating one I dont even see a bulge in the small corn snakes.

@ Terminal- You'll get the feeder ordering process down pat in no time. You can always get more snakes to eat the ones your others outgrow :D. I bought (50) mice fuzzys, (50) rat fuzzys, and a few rat pups to get my jungle and coastal started. Well they outgrew those in no time. I've still got about (20) of each of those left. The jungle is on rat weaners and the coastal is on small/medium rats. I had no other choice but to get a Bredl to clean up the leftovers. ;)

I am quickly at the point to where the next snake I add to the collection is going to have to be something really nice and exceptional but I'm with you on having to get the Bredli to clean up the leftovers. Totally logical to me. :)

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