Why are all the online frozen rat suppliers out of stock? OMG

The question is not actually the thread title, but just... seriously, why. LOL

For those of you who need to order small rats in bulk right now, where are you ordering from? Preferably freezer sealed bags and nice quality.

Big Cheese Rodents has them available.

I would describe them as below Perfect Prey, but above rodent pro.

Anything is above Rodent Pro. What do not like about Perfect Prey aka Loxahatchee? I've heard nothing but really good stuff about them. Vacuum sealed, clean, accurate sizing, good packaging. Big Cheese is good too. Layne Labs too but recently I've been hearing about subpar packing with them and inaccurate sizing.

Although Big Cheese is sold out of medium and large rats...they always seem to be sold of them but they do have smalls.

You are lucky you only need 1 size lol. I need adult mice, small rats, medium rats, large rats, chicks and quails.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Anything is above Rodent Pro. What do not like about Perfect Prey aka Loxahatchee?

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I said Big Cheese was below Perfect Prey. I consider Perfect Prey to be at the top of the pile in terms of quality and cleanliness.

Yeah I saw that, what my eyes read didn't register with what my brain interpreted lol.

Ugh, I actually didn't think through the thread when writing it. I have to pass on Big Cheese this time too because I also need large rats, which is out of stock! In total, I need a few pups, lots of weaned, lots of smalls, larges, and x-larges... the whole spectrum LOL. Perfect Prey is out of stock on smalls.

So what's best besides Big Cheese and Perfect Prey?

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Ugh, I actually didn't think through the thread when writing it. I have to pass on Big Cheese this time too because I also need large rats, which is out of stock! In total, I need a few pups, lots of weaned, lots of smalls, larges, and x-larges... the whole spectrum LOL. Perfect Prey is out of stock on smalls.

So what's best besides Big Cheese and Perfect Prey?

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The crystal ball says you will be ordering everything except smalls and just buying them from the local reptile shop until you need to order again :P

And holy cow, what do you got that needs x-large rats?? A freakin burm or anaconda? haha

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

The crystal ball says you will be ordering everything except smalls and just buying them from the local reptile shop until you need to order again :P

And holy cow, what do you got that needs x-large rats?? A freakin burm or anaconda? haha

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(I fail and didn't get the joke, sorry! LOL)

I was originally trying to plan for the future for my dum, because she still has a ways to grow and is already comfortable with larges, but maybe not a good idea yet. I'm not actually sure exactly how much larger the x-larges are than larges. LOL

Also, pffbbht burms and anacondas would be eating rabbits and chickens.

Sweet Jebus!! How big is your dum? My 7' BCI girl is still only on large rats every 2-3 weeks. Heck my little dum who I actually just kind of got a measurement tonight is not 24 inches, she is actually about 30-32 inches and she gets an adult mouse every week.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Sweet Jebus!! How big is your dum? My 7' BCI girl is still only on large rats every 2-3 weeks. Heck my little dum who I actually just kind of got a measurement tonight is not 24 inches, she is actually about 30-32 inches and she gets an adult mouse every week.

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She's about 5'8" maybe? A bit taller than I am LOL and she's only 3 years old. So at this rate, I'm figuring she might end up over 7 feet? It leaves a lump, but not much! I know some people have dums eating rabbits. I do believe BCI are longer and leaner than dums though.

Yeah, your dum babe is teeny still! A cutie.

She is a cutie lol. Although she leaves me huge turds for such a small snake haha. Well I think dums aren't supposed to be overly thick. I believe they are thicker than BCI though. I've been told dums should still hold a square shape to them and not be rounded like pythons although I'm not 100% sure as I'm still learning about them.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

She is a cutie lol. Although she leaves me huge turds for such a small snake haha. Well I think dums aren't supposed to be overly thick. I believe they are thicker than BCI though. I've been told dums should still hold a square shape to them and not be rounded like pythons although I'm not 100% sure as I'm still learning about them.

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LOL Omg right, they leave such huge turds and urates.

Yeah, that's what I've been told too, that they should be squarish, at least as adults. Mine feels nice and muscular, so I assume we're on the right track LOL

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

The question is not actually the thread title, but just... seriously, why. LOL

For those of you who need to order small rats in bulk right now, where are you ordering from? Preferably freezer sealed bags and nice quality.

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Try "Mice direct". I used them a couple of times in the past for prey for my kingsnakes and garter snakes and was very satisfied. They do run specials from time to time and are extremely customer attentive. Pricing is reasonable.

Hm, I just realized the same thing...

I usually use Rodent Pro, but was going to try either Big Cheese or Perfect Prey. Both of those were out of a few sizes (rats) last time I checked. I figured it was due to everyone hurrying and getting orders in before the holiday craze.

I just checked again and they are still out. Big Cheese has no mediums or larges and Perfect Prey doesn't have any small or mediums. I need everything from weaned to large, with a couple xlg thrown in. Makes no sense to me to split an order because of the shipping expense..

What kind of irritates me about Perfect Prey is that they always seem to have the "lower quantity" higher priced rodents in stock. I can't buy a pack of 15 small rats, but I can buy 4 packs of "4" small rats, at a much higher price. Does that mean they keep a large stock of "lower quantity" killed rodents that are already packed and waiting to be shipped ? Each time I have checked over the months they were out of a size I needed in "bulk", yet they would let me purchase the same amount of rodents at the "lower quantity/higher price".

Just odd. Most people want to buy the larger quantity, or else buying frozen rodents doesn't make much sense. The shipping plus the higher price at the "low quantity" pricing would make the "per rodent" price almost higher then just buying at a store. Especially if you just get a few rodents. (the whole purpose of offering lower quantity, I guess)

Well, I'm just musing here ;)

I would really like to try either company, but I want to place an entire order, every size I need. And I refuse to buy a bunch of "lower quantity" bags at a higher price to make up for the amount of rodents I need. So I guess I wait for a bit and keep checking.

Until then I stick with Rodent Pro. I really don't have any problems with them. Just want to try the vacuum packed plus ziplock option.

Out of curiosity have you tried calling to see if they'll give you the discount on the combined small packs?
My local supplier is gone so watching with interest here.

You can also call them to see when they'll have the sizes you need in stock. Both of them were out of some sizes I needed as well but 2-3 days later Perfect Prey took my order and Big Cheese had the sizes I needed too. I ordered all the rat sizes from fuzzys to larges and some chicks.

I actually emailed both of them today...to see if they can predict when they would have all the sizes I need in stock.

I don't really want to ask for a lower price on the "small quantity". They make more money on those and they serve a purpose I guess. Although I still don't see who would purposely order only a few, and then pay the higher price for small quantity plus the shipping charge which is still high on a small quantity due to the need of dry ice. That just drives the "per rodent" price really up there. Probably also the reason why no-one else offers the small quantity.

Guess that would be nice if one only had a couple of snakes and lived close enough to pick up the order ..

I just emailed big cheese too! I need those large rats LOL.

Has anyone used Layne Labs before? Are they freezer sealed?

it's been an ongoing issue for a MONTHS now.
I order pretty much all sizes, pups, weaned, smalls, mediums, lrgs and XLs. The last two months I've had to split orders between various suppliers to make sure I can get everything. It is very annoying and shipping is costly.
I usually go with Laynes or Big Cheese, I've been filling in with Perfect Prey lately as well.
I really hope these shortages/out of stock issues are resolved soon
:(

oh and I emailed Big Cheese before as well to try to find out when stock would be available so I wouldn't have to split orders but they never replied.

edit to address Layne's Labs question. They used to be freezer sealed but the last few orders they've switched to using large zip bags. I'm not a fan of the change but I re-bag and vacuum mine anyways.

Hm, like I've said. I never had any issues with Rodent Pro. Been ordering through them for many years.

The usual odd broken off leg in the small ones (pups)

They do not vacuum seal, though.

Because I refuse to order from different vendors just to get all the sizes I need, I will stick with Rodent Pro. To bad, though, I would have really liked to try the other 2. But if these have been ongoing issues, and inquires aren't answered (Big Cheese also didn't answer someone asking asking about this on facebook) then oh well :(

I wish Perfect Prey would do away with those "low quantity" bags and just sell the typical sized/priced bags. Esp. since they obviously have the rodents in stock, but only in the high priced versions..

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Originally Posted by zina10

Hm, like I've said. I never had any issues with Rodent Pro. Been ordering through them for many years.

The usual odd broken off leg in the small ones (pups)

They do not vacuum seal, though.

Because I refuse to order from different vendors just to get all the sizes I need, I will stick with Rodent Pro. To bad, though, I would have really liked to try the other 2. But if these have been ongoing issues, and inquires aren't answered (Big Cheese also didn't answer someone asking asking about this on facebook) then oh well :(

I wish Perfect Prey would do away with those "low quantity" bags and just sell the typical sized/priced bags. Esp. since they obviously have the rodents in stock, but only in the high priced versions..

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I've ordered from Rodent Pro only once before, and it was bad. I think after you order from Big Cheese or Perfect Prey, you can see the difference! Not that there's anything wrong with their rats, but they're just in a mess in a giant bag, not lined up, the sizes are all over the place, and were even a bit thawed upon arrival LOL. My experience with them just can't even compare with Big Cheese or Perfect Prey.

My last order was the first time I'd had any supply issues with Perfect Prey and it was resolved a few days later. They've been consistent in their quality and service in the 3 years that I've been using them.

http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10t2s7cd.jpg.com/user/EL-Ziggy/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20160720_194942-1_zps10t2s7cd.jpg.html]http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10t2s7cd.jpg[/URL]

I ended up ordering from Layne Labs this time (since perfect prey and big cheese are out of stock on a size I need), so I'll see how it is!

Layne Labs is great too. Their shipping charges are their only drawback.

I have NEVER gotten a bad order from Rodent Pro...Ordered from them 7+ years.

My main priority is quality of the food. And so far I had no problem with that. My snakes thrive, look well and are healthy. All eat well.
Shipments have always arrived frozen solid with dry ice still intact. I have had shipments arrive in the summer, and it gets HOT in the south.

So...all that said, that's not the issue.

I would still like to try the other two..

I have to say, kudos to both for communication !!!! I have received email replies from both !! Perfect Prey told me they have processed more rodents today and either added them to the webpage or are in the process of doing so.

Chad from Big Cheese told me to call them tomorrow and they will see what they can do for me. So not sure if they will have the rodents I need, but they might. And most of all, I DO appreciate both companies getting back with me.

While quality of the rodents is my first priority, customer service isn't far behind. I'm looking forward to trying out both businesses.

:)

So I checked Perfect Preys website again and they DID add some sized. But now they are out of another size I need...:weirdface

I talked to Chris at Big Cheese. He said they were processing rats today and to check their website Friday afternoon. And to call on Monday, if need be...

So I will wait till late Friday...and check sites again ;)

Good thing I'm not out of food, yet..

I'm dreading the day I have to come clean to my little ones about what my snakes eat. Up till now they have been satisfied with "snake food" or whatever else BS I make up.

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Originally Posted by cletus

I'm dreading the day I have to come clean to my little ones about what my snakes eat. Up till now they have been satisfied with "snake food" or whatever else BS I make up.

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LOL !!! If you feed FT you can always say that those are the little rats that died and whose souls went to heaven. They wanted their bodies to go to good use to feed all the good little snakes..

or something like that. :rolleye2:

With live it may become a little more complicated !! I had a rescue snake years ago that only fed on live mice. My 3 year old walked in on me trying to feed the snake. The snake refused and off we had to go to buy a mouse cage. Sigh. Until a day later the mouse bit my daughter pretty good and she tearfully yelled that we should throw the mouse to the snake...:rofl: Of course she later said she didn't mean it, but by then the little mouse moved on to greener pastures :oops:

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Originally Posted by zina10

LOL !!! If you feed FT you can always say that those are the little rats that died and whose souls went to heaven. They wanted their bodies to go to good use to feed all the good little snakes..

or something like that. :rolleye2:

With live it may become a little more complicated !! I had a rescue snake years ago that only fed on live mice. My 3 year old walked in on me trying to feed the snake. The snake refused and off we had to go to buy a mouse cage. Sigh. Until a day later the mouse bit my daughter pretty good and she tearfully yelled that we should throw the mouse to the snake...:rofl: Of course she later said she didn't mean it, but by then the little mouse moved on to greener pastures :oops:

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When I was a kid I raised mice for my snakes. My little sisters knew what was up but they didn't watch. One day I had my mouse tub uncovered so I could get some food and my sister (she like like 5 or so at the time) was with me. Out of nowhere her cat jumped in the tub and snatched up a mouse and then turned and looked at her for a full 2 or 3 seconds and she freaked out BAD. She started screaming. it took a while to calm her down. Not to mention she was freaked out by the cat for the next month or so.

:O Your poor sister !!!

She probably had nightmares for a while !!!

Cats can be jerks, LOL !!

Last night Big Cheese had mediums and larges in stock. I took inventory and figured out what I needed, logged on this morning to order and *bam* out of stock. Figures.

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

Last night Big Cheese had mediums and larges in stock. I took inventory and figured out what I needed, logged on this morning to order and *bam* out of stock. Figures.

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WHAT ???

sigh...

Well, I'll still try tomorrow afternoon, like he told me to.
If that doesn't work, I'll call on Monday...like he told me to.

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll stick with Rodent Pro. I just don't have time to juggle feeder suppliers around like that. Perfect Prey is an entire dollar more on large rats then the other suppliers. And that is WITH the bulk pricing. If I need 30 large rats, that adds up...throw in 8 jumbos or so. Plus I refuse to make up my order with using their "small quantity" bags whenever a size is out of stock. Which happens to be every time I have checked. It just becomes to expensive, esp. since I haven't actually had problems with my other supplier.

I would really like to try Big Cheese, though. Good prices, vacuum packed..

If anyone is in CT I can supply frozen rats ... pinks - fuzzy - pup - weaned - med - large

pinks/fuzzy/pup 1.00 bags of 25-50-100
weaned bags of 25 - 35$
smalls - bag of 25 - 40$
mediums - bag of 10 - 25$
large - bag of 10 - 30$

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Originally Posted by zina10

WHAT ???
Perfect Prey is an entire dollar more on large rats then the other suppliers. And that is WITH the bulk pricing. If I need 30 large rats, that adds up...throw in 8 jumbos or so. Plus I refuse to make up my order with using their "small quantity" bags whenever a size is out of stock. Which happens to be every time I have checked. It just becomes to expensive, esp. since I haven't actually had problems with my other supplier.

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For what it's worth, Perfect Prey is (in my opinion) the absolute best quality in regards to frozen feeders (and insects for that matter, wish they had dubias), so that may explain the increased cost (though it looks like $.75 increase per to me).

That said, Big cheese seems to be the most economical and they have a good product.

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Originally Posted by Regius_049

For what it's worth, Perfect Prey is (in my opinion) the absolute best quality in regards to frozen feeders (and insects for that matter, wish they had dubias), so that may explain the increased cost (though it looks like $.75 increase per to me).

That said, Big cheese seems to be the most economical and they have a good product.

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Just re-checked Perfect Prey. They are now out of 3 sizes I need !!! Weaned, Small and Mediums.

When you say best quality, what exactly are you referring to ?

The rodents themselves ? As in healthier for the snake ? Fed better food ? Cleaner ?

Or perhaps the way they are packaged ? Or customer service ?

I've never had bad luck with "bad" rodents where I buy from. They look clean and seem healthy, my snakes are thriving in any case...and never refuse.

The reason I want to check the other two are vacuum packing. But not if I have check nonstop and then hope for them to have all sizes needed. I never had to do this before.
Maybe that isn't normally the case, though. I'm not ready (yet) to give up. But if this continues on, I'll place my next order with my regular supplier. I'm not splitting orders or paying far more to buy small quantity packs. The vacuum packing is not worth THAT much to me ;)

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Originally Posted by zina10

Just re-checked Perfect Prey. They are now out of 3 sizes I need !!! Weaned, Small and Mediums.

When you say best quality, what exactly are you referring to ?

The rodents themselves ? As in healthier for the snake ? Fed better food ? Cleaner ?

Or perhaps the way they are packaged ? Or customer service ?

I've never had bad luck with "bad" rodents where I buy from. They look clean and seem healthy, my snakes are thriving in any case...and never refuse.

The reason I want to check the other two are vacuum packing. But not if I have check nonstop and then hope for them to have all sizes needed. I never had to do this before.
Maybe that isn't normally the case, though. I'm not ready (yet) to give up. But if this continues on, I'll place my next order with my regular supplier. I'm not splitting orders or paying far more to buy small quantity packs. The vacuum packing is not worth THAT much to me ;)

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I am referring to the rodents themselves. They are as close to immaculate as I have ever seen - no fecal matter or fur stains to be found. Coats of fur on all feeder I have received have been very good. I know they feed their rodents purified water and a diet recommended by an animal nutritionist, but what that is, I could not say. I do know Perfect Prey feeds their own rodents to their personal reptile stock, which always a nice thing to see.

With rodent pro and big cheese, I have found some fecal matter (presumably from defecation after death) and rodent pro is not vacuum packed. Big cheese is however markedly better than rodent pro is this regard, but not as nice as Perfect Prey. Both Big Cheese and perfect prey appear to be vacuum sealed. According to the CDC and Kentucky Zoo, rodent pro awhile back had an outbreak of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis in some of their rodent population, which is what prompted me to switch to Perfect Prey initially. I was rather disappointed that I never received a notification from the company or saw a PSA on their website regarding the issue. I also know a few people who have lost eastern indigos after feeding them quail from rodent pro.

Customer service is hard to say because I have never had an incident where I complained or was missing something on an order, which is where customer service usually shows how good or bad it is.

The out of stock thing appears to be a new phenomena among a few companies. I don't know if it is a down year or what, but both perfect prey and big cheese appear to be out of select items as you state. As a piece of anecdotal information, I recently ordered from big cheese for the first time and I have had a more difficult time getting my ball pythons to take the feeders than I have in the past. I however suspect this is a result of big cheese appearing to "flash freeze" it's feeders. When I received my order, the feeders were rock solid to the point of limbs breaking off extremely easily. This has its pros and cons. My other non-ball pythons don't appear to have a preference however.

Thus I usually rank them - Perfect Prey > Big Cheese > Rodent Pro

These are the only companies I have experience with.

Just reading this I need to order on the First, I hope Big Cheese gets stocked back up, I have enough for 2 more Feedings and that's it...

Sent from my LG-V930 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Regius_049

Thus I usually rank them - Perfect Prey > Big Cheese > Rodent Pro

These are the only companies I have experience with.

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I agree with this, and I have experience buying from all three too.

Zina, it's totally fine that you love rodent pro and haven't tried anything else, nobody is saying that you're wrong lol. Whatever works. A lot of people like vacuum packing, cleanliness of fur/no blood or poop, and closer size consistency. The rats obviously shouldn't be sick or rotten to make the snakes sick, that would be silly.

I don't "love" Rodent Pro...LOL. Well, perhaps my snakes do, though.

I just mentioned them because I'm not in desperate need of another supplier because of problems. I would simply like to try the other two but it is getting almost comical to try to get a order together. Every time I try...something else is out of stock.

Like I said, not giving up just yet. I still am not in desperate need of rats, but in 4 weeks or so I need to place an order at the latest.

Thanks for all the info, everyone !!! :)

For anyone that is waiting on stock..

I was just able to order from PerfectPrey !!

I checked Big Cheese earlier and while they restocked medium rats, they were still out of large ones.

Perfect Prey was out of medium and weaned ones earlier today, but just now let me add everything needed to the shopping cart. Even though I didn't need to order just yet, I went ahead anyway. No knowing when there will be another chance with all the sizes I need :)

They had everything from pinkie rats to jumbo rats. In the "bulk" sizes.

:)

Big Cheese has restocked Mediums and Larges, get em while you can. I just did. lol

I already ordered from Perfect Prey last week. I kept checking and they were in stock the day I posted last.

I actually received the order yesterday. The dry ice was used up, but everything was still frozen solid. The box arrived a bit beat up, but that's due to FedEx I'm sure. Inside everything was perfectly fine.

Some of the rodents do have some stains on them, from fecal or urine ? But its very minimal and it does not bother me. I don't expect them to groom or wash the rodents before killing them ;)

They are packaged, nicely !

So far I'm happy. They also included a handwritten "Thank you" on the packing list as well as a pen. While the quality of the rodents is my #1 concern, details such as that are really appreciated.

I'm still going to order from Big Cheese next time. I want to try them as well. I like the idea of having the vacuum packaged rodents placed in an additional ziplock freezer bag. Once you tear open the vacuum packed bag, the seal is gone, and not all rodents are used up all at once.
For now, I'm just going to use my own ziplock bags.

The thing I don't like from Rodent Pro are the bags they use, they are cheap ziplocks that are very difficult to close again properly, once opened.

:)

I just wanted to say that the "weaned rats" from Layne Labs are actually rat pups in other places. And the "rat pups" are actually fuzzies. BOO.

How exactly do they expect a snake to transition from rat pups to small rats, if they don't have actual WEANED RATS. For some reason, their small rats sizes are fine.

I've only ordered frozen rats twice since I switched to f/t, and both times I ordered from Perfect Prey. The first time was because Big Cheese was out of medium rats, and the second just because I had used them the first time. From what I've read about Big Cheese, I'd like to try them and see what the difference is. They just seem to be out of mediums quite often.

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Originally Posted by zina10

I'm still going to order from Big Cheese next time. I want to try them as well. I like the idea of having the vacuum packaged rodents placed in an additional ziplock freezer bag. Once you tear open the vacuum packed bag, the seal is gone, and not all rodents are used up all at once.

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I would encourage you to order from both and see which one you like best. My opinion may differ from yours.

I am not sure if this is exactly what you were saying, but having big cheese rodents in my freezer at this very moment, there is not an additional ziplock bag that comes with the vacuum packed bag. If you wish to transfer the rodents to a zip lock bag, you will have do it yourself like you did with PP.

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Originally Posted by Regius_049

I would encourage you to order from both and see which one you like best. My opinion may differ from yours.

I am not sure if this is exactly what you were saying, but having big cheese rodents in my freezer at this very moment, there is not an additional ziplock bag that comes with the vacuum packed bag. If you wish to transfer the rodents to a zip lock bag, you will have do it yourself like you did with PP.

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I'm not sure where, but possibly on their facebook site, it mentioned that starting on *whichever date it was* they will ship all orders with ziplock bags around the vacuum package. Perhaps they were going to do that and stopped ?
I will try to find the info again...
I thought that was a great idea. Easily can do it myself, of course, but still..

Omg, never mind..LOL

The post was from June 2014. Its on their facebook page.

I clicked on a "photo" on their facebook that showed the vacuum packed rodents in a ziplock bag and it read :"Coming soon!! After many request from our customers, we will be adding zip locks to our vacuum sealed bags. Making long term storage of your rodents even easier. We are in the final steps of making this transition so look for these new bags in the first part of July."

Guess they scrapped that idea.

After reading all of this I'm glad that I raise my own rats LOL. The only problem with raising my own is that if I don't use them right away they grow to the next size up super fast LOL. And if they get too big my reticulated python gets them HA!

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

After reading all of this I'm glad that I raise my own rats LOL. The only problem with raising my own is that if I don't use them right away they grow to the next size up super fast LOL. And if they get too big my reticulated python gets them HA!

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LOL that's convenient! (For feeding your retic, I mean)