Expetations from Buying F/T in Bulk

Hello BP Forum.....

Recently I purchased a 25 pack of jumbo mice from the local repticon (my 1st bulk purchase from anywhere). The jumbo sized mice were advertised as 26 - 45 grams. As I took inventory, I found there to be only two mice that weigh 35 grams, a couple around 23-24g and the rest are between 26 - 30g. Is this normal and should I expect these type of ranges when I order from the big name places (i.e. Perfect Prey, etc..).

Also, since my BP has just gone over the 300gram mark, is it still ok to feed him the sizes that I have? Meaning these are way under the recommended 10-15% range. I've NEVER offered him more then one at a time. I'm not even sure if he would take it since he's a secretive eater and drags everything back into his hide. For the record, I've never seen him digest a feeder so I don't know at what point in the night he decides to eat (if I'm forced to drop the mouse and leave the room). On occasion, I get lucky and he strikes and grabs and drags the food back into the cage.

Also, my plan is once he gets to about 400grams and I deplete some over my feeder inventory, I'm going to try again introducing rats since it was such a struggle the 1st time.

Thanks for your help!

As someone who breeds feeders it's a pretty normal variation, understand that people who breed feeders don't weigh every single feeders they go by age and by a certain age you can expect feeders to be a certain size, however like with any animal there can be variation from a litter to another even within the same litter.

The size you currently have is fine for your BP, remember in most cases BP are overfed anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deborah

As someone who breeds feeders it's a pretty normal variation, understand that people who breed feeders don't weigh every single feeders they go by age and by a certain age you can expect feeders to be a certain size, however like with any animal there can be variation from a litter to another even within the same litter.

The size you currently have is fine for your BP, remember in most cases BP are overfed anyway.

---

Thanks Deborah for your input. As for the current size that I have, it was kind of my thought they would be ok, just wanted some reassurance from experienced owners on this site like yourself. So can I assume that I don't need to offer more then one at a feeding? And I'm going to assume I should just feed smallest to largest......

I would just offer one for now. As you run out of these 25 feeders you may feed every five days instead of every seven since your BP will likely be quite a bit larger by then. I wouldn't offer two per feeding until he hits 500 grams.

Maybe I'm "that customer" but I weigh my feeders and when they were all underweight (local breeder), I called and they gladly exchanged for me.

I recently purchased from Reptilink (local guys prices were 3x higher), and every mouse and rat shipped was within the advertised range and I was sure to thank them and give a positive review. Maybe I got lucky, maybe they have better QC in place. We all work hard for our money and feel you should get what you pay for.

I have only ordered from perfect prey once. All my feeders were within their size range. However, they were all closer to the lighter end. That being said, I got some feeders from a local show a few months ago. They were all on the heavier size. But they were disgusting. Im gonna keep ordering from perfect prey because the feeders I get from them are free from urine, feces, and sub straight.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MmmBanana

I have only ordered from perfect prey once. All my feeders were within their size range. However, they were all closer to the lighter end. That being said, I got some feeders from a local show a few months ago. They were all on the heavier size. But they were disgusting. Im gonna keep ordering from perfect prey because the feeders I get from them are free from urine, feces, and sub straight.

---

My buddy ordered from Rodent Pro and they smelled like urine, had spare heads and half bodies, and that just was enough for me not to order from them. I'm sure people have good experiences with them, but I'll never know personally after seeing that.

I've never weighed a feeder. I buy in bulk usually twice a year S, M, L, and XXL. I'll notice some are smaller than others but I've never worried about it and my snakes have never complained. I guess that is what's nice about having multiple snakes, you have options on who gets what do when one is a bit smaller than others I'll feed it to a smaller snake and vice versa.

I've never gone by the numbers and have stuck to offering the properly eyeballed feeder. Maybe this saves me from seeing the variation in what I get. As long as they're the size I ordered being S, M, L, or XXL I'm happy.

If I was stuck with undersized feeders I would just feed more frequently.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BR8080

My buddy ordered from Rodent Pro and they smelled like urine, had spare heads and half bodies, and that just was enough for me not to order from them. I'm sure people have good experiences with them, but I'll never know personally after seeing that.

---

I've ordered almost exclusively from RP for many years. Mice and rats in every size available and never had such an experience. Nothing even close.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Hello BP Forum.....

Recently I purchased a 25 pack of jumbo mice from the local repticon (my 1st bulk purchase from anywhere). The jumbo sized mice were advertised as 26 - 45 grams. As I took inventory, I found there to be only two mice that weigh 35 grams, a couple around 23-24g and the rest are between 26 - 30g. Is this normal and should I expect these type of ranges when I order from the big name places (i.e. Perfect Prey, etc..).

Also, since my BP has just gone over the 300gram mark, is it still ok to feed him the sizes that I have? Meaning these are way under the recommended 10-15% range. I've NEVER offered him more then one at a time. I'm not even sure if he would take it since he's a secretive eater and drags everything back into his hide. For the record, I've never seen him digest a feeder so I don't know at what point in the night he decides to eat (if I'm forced to drop the mouse and leave the room). On occasion, I get lucky and he strikes and grabs and drags the food back into the cage.

Also, my plan is once he gets to about 400grams and I deplete some over my feeder inventory, I'm going to try again introducing rats since it was such a struggle the 1st time.

Thanks for your help!

---

Yup I bought those too. They were .73 cents each. Your fine feeding them. A BP can live its entire life on mice. Do some people prefer to move up to Rats? Yes.. But it isn't necessary. I moved onto Rats but that is for breeding reasons as mice Stink awful.. I buy the mice for other keepers. I have a large Chest freezer in my Garage and the only place that sells Frozen Mice Local is PETSMART and their prices are off the chain.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

I've ordered almost exclusively from RP for many years. Mice and rats in every size available and never had such an experience. Nothing even close.

---

Maybe my buddy's experience was just a fluke.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BR8080

Maybe my buddy's experience was just a fluke.

---

Did your buddy contact rodent pro to give them an opportunity to resolve the issue?

Either way, I have never heard of a bad experience with perfect prey. I will continue to do business with them. Also, perfect prey seems to be one of the only sellers that offer smaller packages for if you don't need 25-50 smaller feeders for a quickly growing snake or two.

I had (2) bad experiences with Rodent Pro. Their feeders were soiled and smelled of urine. I've used Perfect Prey for the last few years without issues. The feeders are all within the advertised weight ranges with pretty good diversity in size. They're my go to supplier these days. The jumbo mice are cool for your BP now but I agree with you on trying to get him on rats soon. It can be frustrating but most will make the transition in time. It might take some tough love though.

I order from perfect prey and big cheese. Both always ship feeders within the range they list...That said, sometimes you get orders where all will be on the small side of the range or the larger side. If you want a particular end of the range (say, larger or smaller) let them know when you order and most reputable sellers will usually try to give you what you want within reason.

I got some bad feeders from a show once... I had pre-ordered them (can't remember who, it was a smaller dealer out of Louisianna I think, not perfect prey). When I got them home, I noticed that they had been thawed and re-frozen, with bellies turned black. You can bet that I never ordered from them again. I've never had a bad experience with either perfect prey or big cheese.

I'm with artgecko. I buy from perfect prey and big cheese and have never had a problem. Everything is within an acceptable size of each other. I also feel that int the wild snakes don't break out the scale before eating prey so if one rodent is slightly smaller or bigger than the other that's just the way it goes. These aren't manufactured rat patties so I expect variation in the size when ordering in bulk. I have just found that the two vendors I use tend to have better quality control than placed like expos.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDA

I also feel that int the wild snakes don't break out the scale before eating prey so if one rodent is slightly smaller or bigger than the other that's just the way it goes.

---

I totally agree with your point above but I think most of the confusion stems from the 10-15% rule that we read so frequently on this board. When you receive a 'jumbo mouse' order and none of them are 10-15% of your snakes weight, you start to question if you should make up the difference by feeding more then 1, etc...... For instance, my 300gram BP has been eating jumbo mice in the mid 20s the last couple of weeks. I know now that it's not a huge deal.