Selling excess feeders to pet stores?

Curious if anyone is doing this. I started a small colony for our 9 ball pythons and some of the breeder rats I picked up were already pregnant. I already had a male in with a female for about a week, so now I possibly have 3-4 pregnant rats which will give me way too many babies. The pet store I’ve been buying feeders from has been SUPER low on their stock. I explained my situation and asked if they would buy what I don’t need. Of course I’ll have to speak with the owner, but any ideas on what would be a fair price for them at various sizes? Is anyone else “wholesaling” their rats?

Can't quote you any prices as I stopped doing this some years ago & it also depends on your location, etc. But for some years I had a pretty good side business
selling rats, mice & hamsters to local stores, a museum & a few private individuals. Even though I had a house-full of snakes to feed, my rodent production was
way more than enough for my own needs. It helps to figure out what it costs you to produce them- it's likely to be more than a larger scale source they may be
using, so unfortunately you'll have to be competitive in your prices. (& they may or may not tell you the truth about what they're paying)

The other thing is that pet stores need reliable sources...you may not have enough to be their constant supplier but it wouldn't hurt to talk it over with the owner.
(Do they only want live, or can you also sell them frozen excess?) If you plan to do this as more of a business as I did, one thing that helped me is that I could
give them what other sources could not. Example: They had been selling hamsters sourced from a large supplier that paid NO attention to inbreeding, which resulted
in "c/b" but inbred hamsters that behaved as feral ones would have, biting viciously & virtually un-tameable; they lost money on them, because instead of selling
as pets, they had to reduce prices & sell them as snake food. They also lost the trust of some unhappy customers...no one wants a pet hamster that attacks their
children & bites hard! As a hobbyist, I produced healthy, tame AND attractive hamsters that they "sold like hotcakes", & in addition, since I had :snake: "customers"
that could consume any that didn't measure up, I even guaranteed free replacement (on my next weekly delivery) of any hamsters whose temperament was less
than perfect. They rarely took me up on that- they didn't need to- but it assured them they never lost money, & it cost me nothing while gaining good will & trust.
If you work with them, both you and locally-owned pet stores will come out ahead...good luck! :gj:

I don't what I do is I keep part of my collection on live part on F/T so when I over produce I euthanize everything that is 6 to 8 weeks and freeze it.

One thing I learned is while you might over produce at times other times you might fall short.

I went downstairs to check and one is giving birth right now lol. One of the girls she’s in with keeps taking the kittens and putting them in “her” nest. Just spoke with the store manager as the owner isn’t in today but he said they would prefer live, so I guess I’ll call on Monday and see if they want something consistent or just a booster to get the back up to demand. I appreciate the tips. The community here is small and spread out, so I may be able to sell my extra privately. There’s 3 pet stores selling live, one is low, one has bad husbandry, and the other doesn’t sell anything other than mice and nothing smaller than small rats live. That store feeds all their snakes mice until they can take small rats, so that’s how they run their shop.

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Originally Posted by Stewart_Reptiles

I don't what I do is I keep part of my collection on live part on F/T so when I over produce I euthanize everything that is 6 to 8 weeks and freeze it.

One thing I learned is while you might over produce at times other times you might fall short.

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That’s something I’ll have to look into. My wife hates rats in the house. If I start loading the freezer....

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Originally Posted by KSballer

That’s something I’ll have to look into. My wife hates rats in the house. If I start loading the freezer....

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That's why spending $150 in a chest freezer was a great investment for me.

Gotta have a good freezer when you live with snakes. :gj:

New laws actually prohibit this if the store follows policy. Since the outbreaks with rat bite fever all rodents that are sold to stores were supposed to be have been from testing animals only. I even had a problem with a mom and pop store that wouldn’t buy from me. I wanted to get rid of hundreds of rats and even though they wanted them they just wouldn’t risk it.


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I posted an ad on craigslist for my area selling mice and ASFs. I now have a few repeat customers who come to me monthly for their mice. I sell my mice for just $1 each and they sell fast. I actually still profit off the mice, after buying supplies and using some for my snakes too.

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

New laws actually prohibit this if the store follows policy. Since the outbreaks with rat bite fever all rodents that are sold to stores were supposed to be have been from testing animals only. I even had a problem with a mom and pop store that wouldn’t buy from me. I wanted to get rid of hundreds of rats and even though they wanted them they just wouldn’t risk it.


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Hadn't heard about this (it's been some years since I sold rodents). Is this a nationwide law? Sounds like something that might vary according to state & local laws, but
we sure don't need more outbreaks of rat bite fever anyway. Thanks for information. :gj:

I have no intention of supplying rodents, just like to stay 'current'.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Hadn't heard about this (it's been some years since I sold rodents). Is this a nationwide law? Sounds like something that might vary according to state & local laws, but
we sure don't need more outbreaks of rat bite fever anyway. Thanks for information. :gj:

I have no intention of supplying rodents, just like to stay 'current'.

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I honestly couldn’t tell you if it’s federal or state or actually anything. A couple years back I did Google it after the store owner refused, he told me it was a Health law or something and I did find it. But I’m totally ignorant to anything about it. Within two months I’m probably done with Rodents period anyway.. my snakes are all old enough now we’re buying frozen because they now feed less is more cost-effective and obviously a lot less work.


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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

I honestly couldn’t tell you if it’s federal or state or actually anything. A couple years back I did Google it after the store owner refused, he told me it was a Health law or something and I did find it. But I’m totally ignorant to anything about it. Within two months I’m probably done with Rodents period anyway.. my snakes are all old enough now we’re buying frozen because they now feed less is more cost-effective and obviously a lot less work.


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I may go that route too, one of these days...I'm seriously thinking about it, I've had enough of raising rodents to last me a lifetime. :rolleyes:

Store near me pays $1.50 for small live rats. He buys 50 at a time once a week. He sells live feeders for $6 an pets for $12. The Craigs List sellers get $3 for live in my area.


Find a FB snake or reptile group in your area. People always want a deal. My problem is ASF, I have too many live ones:rofl:.

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Originally Posted by 303_enfield

Store near me pays $1.50 for small live rats. He buys 50 at a time once a week. He sells live feeders for $6 an pets for $12. The Craigs List sellers get $3 for live in my area.


Find a FB snake or reptile group in your area. People always want a deal. My problem is ASF, I have too many live ones:rofl:.

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I considered doing ASF as well but that might be something I get into when my collection gets more substantial. I’m planning on a lot of holdbacks our first full season. I’ve heard ASF are better meals and even help the snakes hold their color better.

$1.50ea and a flip at $6-12 is insane lol. But I definitely wouldn’t mind selling at half retail. If I can pay for their food and bedding then I only have to worry about coco and expanding both operations.

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Originally Posted by KSballer

I considered doing ASF as well but that might be something I get into when my collection gets more substantial. I’m planning on a lot of holdbacks our first full season. I’ve heard ASF are better meals and even help the snakes hold their color better.

$1.50ea and a flip at $6-12 is insane lol. But I definitely wouldn’t mind selling at half retail. If I can pay for their food and bedding then I only have to worry about coco and expanding both operations.

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ASF are great for Balls an the like. The only reason I raise rats an rabbits is the Boas are adults :D ASF are the best breeders but are slow growing. While a rat the "right" size on Monday on Friday it's too big. You won't have that problem with ASF.

The only shop that buys rats/mice from hobby breeders sells feeders for less the Petco. When the rats get large or jumbo he gasses 99% of them an freezes them. As he told me, "Young rats are cute so $12 is less then Petco, an I'll take them back when mom thinks they're ugly" (free). I asked if he would buy ASF. He said, "not till I have a pet market for them". Selling them as feeders would cut mice an rats sales. Also, unlike Petco, he sells breeding pairs.

Now, I sell by word of mouth. At school the kids friends parents would call asking where to buy feeders. Then the Bass Club want ASF as bait. An on it goes. Start small an be ready to gas all of them. Cull bad breeders, biters an anything that's a problem. If you get any oddball colors an markings hold them back. I have blue an fawn color rats that the pet trade loves around me. An if you have kids ask which ones are for the snakes. You don't want to feed Jackie to Ralfie:O

Good luck!

The one pet store that sells ASF here hardly ever has them, and told me the guy they get them from charges $12ea for them. I have a problem snake we got as a 1400g adult that (we were told) ate small rats but she only took mice, so I was looking for something to kick her back into gear lol. Once we get bigger I’ll switch to ASF and keep the rats for hatchlings and snakes we plan to sell. Our rat that gave birth last night only had 3, so now I’m glad we have more pregnant girls.

$12 each for ASF! I'm rich! Here I thought I was land poor. I better raise my $2 large adult price.

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Originally Posted by 303_enfield

$12 each for ASF! I'm rich! Here I thought I was land poor. I better raise my $2 large adult price.

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Lol that very well could have been just the “we would rather you buy from us” price.

If you do try to sell excess to a pet store I will give you the best case scenario. Sell them where you shop. If you spend your dollars there, they will be more likely to want to work with you in a business capacity. That is a little marketing technique called "following your dollar" and it is especially fruitful with small business owners. Also, a lot of small pet store operate on a tight budget with limited expendable liquid cash. This means that you are likely to get store credit. In most scenarios the best that you can hope for is to get a 50% store credit at their selling price. So, if they are selling a small rat for $3.99 then you are likely to get a store credit for $2.00 for that animal. This is really the best case scenario. You may also want to try bartering. You can offer them things at a wholesale price, for them to order you things at a wholesale price and you do an even exchange. For instance, if you breed ball pythons you might go through a ton of cypress mulch. When you buy a bag you get it at retail price. When they buy a pallet they get it for wholesale price. However, the wholesaler will not sell to you because you do not have a business license. You can work with the small business owner to order you a pallet at their price, and you can trade them the equivalent amount of rodents at a wholesale price for the pallet of cypress mulch. Never expect transactions to exceed a few hundred dollars on either party's end and always expect to be at the mercy of the need of the store owner. They will not always be available as a dump off every time you need to unload a few hundred rats. They are helping you out, so you are at the mercy of their need and not your want. If you keep all of these things in mind, you can avoid disappointment on your end and keep your business relationship strong.

Now I'm curious... Are pet store rats or mice sold as pets really from feeder stock? In other words, can a feeder rat become a pet?

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Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

Now I'm curious... Are pet store rats or mice sold as pets really from feeder stock? In other words, can a feeder rat become a pet?

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Near me, three stores don't sell live "feeders". So it's $18 for a pet rat an $5 for a mouse. The store that has feeders sells live an frozen. Say you want a large rat an he goes in the back an 90% of the time a white rat comes out. He only puts young rats out, males an females in separate cages. Color sells better then the white ones. If the rats stay around too long gas an go.

So sometimes yes feeders are pets. Pets will have better color an what ever style is "in". Feeders just need to be healthy, color doesn't matter.

My feeder rats are played with daily so them do make good pets. If the kids have a problem one they ask if they can feed a snake:D I've had more then one mother want a pretty rat for their kid. But they want me to take it back if it doesn't work out. They ask me to find it a good home:snake:

Pet means more money. If you want a pet rat a young $6 feeder rat will come from the same $18 pet rat cage in some stores. I'll take $2-5 depending on size for feeders an $10 for blue fancy pets.

If you ever go to a livestock auction watch rabbit prices. Rabbits are under $1 unless it's near Easter or has paper. The kids had too many rex rabbits. Great colors but the wrong time of year. 75 rabbits an the check was $110. Still better then dealing with them! I keep 1 Flemish buck an 5 does (Flemish an mix) for the Boas.