Humane rat distributor?

So recently I came home from the pet store with a live rat only to realize he was too big for my snake after I got home. I ended up keeping this rat for a few days before I could find a home for him, and i realized what sweet little creatures rats are! This issue prompted me to look more into feeder rats vs “fancy rats” and it seems the biggest difference is just that feeder rats are neglected and kept in poor conditions. I have been trying to switch to f/t anyways, and this dilemma was the last straw in live feedings for me. That being said, I’m hoping to find a distributor of f/t rats that houses them in humane conditions before they are euthanized, not like the tubs with 20 rats of both genders in them, where the females are overbred and respiratory illnesses are the norm. Anyone recommendations??

I really like Perfect Prey.com - their f/t rats are always clean and don't show signs of over population like barbering (over grooming from stress that causes hair loss or skin sores) or having urine / feces on their feet and tails, and no signs ff URI like crusty noses or eyes.
They are a little more pricey than some of the online feeder providers but I've been very happy with the quality - also their "size breakdown" is a little more varied than sm/ med/ large which gives more options in my opinion

Back when I first bought from them I emailed to find out how the rats were processed and they use the carbon dioxide method, which leaves no chemical residue for your snake and is one of the faster ways to dispatch mass rodents with as little stress as possible.

I'm sure for the rats its not a completely stress free method, but its better than the way most of our own food (chickens / pigs /etc) are dealt with.

I doubt the "fancy" rodents offered at pet stores are any different than the feeders we buy frozen. I buy mine from RodentPro and they look just as "fancy" as those labelled as such in the pet stores. To me fancy is just a word that allows them to charge a bit more because people think they're special.

Maybe it also justifies it to those stores that refuse to sell rodents to people as food items for their animals. Reminds me of buying live when I first took in my BRB and he had not switched to f/t yet. Went into the store and asked for a rat. The employee excitedly asked, "what color would you like?" My responses was "my snake doesn't care." I didn't think much of it but the face the employee made told me they did. Maybe they kept pet rats.

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Originally Posted by kalismami

So recently I came home from the pet store with a live rat only to realize he was too big for my snake after I got home. I ended up keeping this rat for a few days before I could find a home for him, and i realized what sweet little creatures rats are! This issue prompted me to look more into feeder rats vs “fancy rats” and it seems the biggest difference is just that feeder rats are neglected and kept in poor conditions...

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Rats make great pets- I kept pet rats long before I ever "accidentally" got into snakes, & they're cute, intelligent, trainable, & even affectionate animals. I agree that it's sad that so many are treated poorly because they're "just feeders" -but truthfully the same is often true for the animals consumed by humans.

Those rodents labeled as "fancy" are also usually more genetically diverse- they may have various coat colors & markings, or they may have been bred for other appearance variations too (such as "dumbo" ears, wavy-coated "rex", etc). Some of these variations actually ARE harder to breed for- I can vouch for that being the case with fancy coated mice such as "silky" (fine long coats) & "satins" (fine, short shiny coats)- because I used to produce them when I sold to pet stores, so that does justify the higher price & the "fancy" label, but otherwise most rats & mice cost the same to raise- & ALL deserve good care & humane treatment regardless. Unhealthy rodents aren't good for your pet snakes either. I find it every bit as disturbing as you do that so many animals raised as "feeders" are mistreated, & I'm glad you cared enough to ask & choose sources carefully.

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Originally Posted by kalismami

So recently I came home from the pet store with a live rat only to realize he was too big for my snake after I got home. I ended up keeping this rat for a few days before I could find a home for him, and i realized what sweet little creatures rats are! This issue prompted me to look more into feeder rats vs “fancy rats” and it seems the biggest difference is just that feeder rats are neglected and kept in poor conditions. I have been trying to switch to f/t anyways, and this dilemma was the last straw in live feedings for me. That being said, I’m hoping to find a distributor of f/t rats that houses them in humane conditions before they are euthanized, not like the tubs with 20 rats of both genders in them, where the females are overbred and respiratory illnesses are the norm. Anyone recommendations??

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Was there something "fancy" about the rat you bought? Did the store have fancy rats and feeder rats.... And you bought a fancy over the feeder?

The rats I've seen in stores look no different than the rats I get from RodentPro. They are different colors, healthy, and clean. I have never toured their facility but from how the rats look that I've gotten they appear to be treated well. If they weren't I would not continue to buy them.

Rule #1, don’t play with your food!

Yes, some think rats are quite. 99.9% of your online suppliers will be what your looking for.

It your live is too large you have a few options. One, take it back an get a smaller one. Or, use a snap trap an then freeze it for later.

Unless your buying hairless or dumb bows, rats are feeders or fancy. They come from the same cage one is $3 an the other $12. Yes, I simplified it.

Good luck!

Cute, some people think rats are cute. Stupid phone!

Former big box pet store employee here.
I can tell you that most of the 'fancy' rats we received were always delivered to us in overcrowded carriers and you would be able to see urine staining on many of the paler ones. The conditions were probably only slightly better than the 'normal/feeder' rats.
There really is no way to be 100% sure on how the animals are maintained without seeing the facility. Even some small breeders can have terrible conditions or practices. Most rats will have mycoplasma, regardless of it being fancy or feeder. So URIs can happen at the drop of a hat, even with the best care.
I should add in that most of my best pet rats were 'feeder' stock. I've also had some terrible tempered fancy rats.... but that's fairly rare for rats in general.

For frozen feeders, I've been using Rodentpro and they seem to be fairly well kept. Honestly I have not questioned them on the process or facility though.




@Bogertophis I bred a couple silky coat mice YEARS ago. I ended up giving up on the project because the females were being terrible mothers and I didn't want to continue breeding mice with that kind of trait. Those coats are beautiful, but man can they get tangled up in bedding or dirty quick.

I'm friends with a commercial rat breeder and can tell you the "fancy" pet rats are bred for colors/pattern and features like dumbo ears or hairless in the same commercial breeder tubs the feeder rats are bred in. When they produce too many "fancy rats" and not enough "pet" rat orders the same expensive "fancy" rats are mixed in with my cheap feeder rat orders. At this facility rats are bred 6 to a tub with pregnant females put in maternity tubs to maximize production. All the weaned rats are placed in big grow out tubs, I understand almost all commercial breeders operate this way to produce enough to supply the reptiles industry, zoos, and falconers.

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Originally Posted by mdb730

I'm friends with a commercial rat breeder and can tell you the "fancy" pet rats are bred for colors/pattern and features like dumbo ears or hairless in the same commercial breeder tubs the feeder rats are bred in. When they produce too many "fancy rats" and not enough "pet" rat orders the same expensive "fancy" rats are mixed in with my cheap feeder rat orders. At this facility rats are bred 6 to a tub with pregnant females put in maternity tubs to maximize production. All the weaned rats are placed in big grow out tubs, I understand almost all commercial breeders operate this way to produce enough to supply the reptiles industry, zoos, and falconers.

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That's ultimately what it comes down to. Supply and demand.

You want a reliable, affordable source of meat for your snakes? Then "factory" rodents it is, because otherwise people are going to charge far more due to the increased operating costs that would come with making the rats' lives more comfortable, while also decreasing production and therefore fewer rats for everybody. Such is the principle for our own meat as several have already pointed out.

It's unfortunate, but unless you've got the money to support more humane businesses (which, especially in the past year, most people do not), that's just the way things are.

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Originally Posted by Armiyana

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I should add in that most of my best pet rats were 'feeder' stock. I've also had some terrible tempered fancy rats.... but that's fairly rare for rats in general...



@Bogertophis I bred a couple silky coat mice YEARS ago. I ended up giving up on the project because the females were being terrible mothers and I didn't want to continue breeding mice with that kind of trait. Those coats are beautiful, but man can they get tangled up in bedding or dirty quick.

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As far as temperaments, I've seen horrible ones in pet-store hamsters (not mine) as well as some "fancy" pet-store rats: this can happen when large commercial breeders pay no attention to avoid excessive inbreeding, & only breed for appearance. Just like happens with "purebred" dog breeds, inbreeding keeps both the "good" traits (those wanted for appearance) as well as unintended poor temperaments, & not every seller cares enough to avoid this- all they want is to make that immediate sale of a "warm body" regardless.

Silky & satin mice: I can remember similar issues- including the long-haired mice just being "impractical" for sanitation reasons. Not many people keep "show" mice in this country, so I was happy to quit producing them too; they were just a pretty novelty & I much prefer my strong healthy breeders with less "fancy" coats. (All my mice are still "fancy" coat colors, but not fancy textures.)

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

I really like Perfect Prey.com - their f/t rats are always clean and don't show signs of over population like barbering (over grooming from stress that causes hair loss or skin sores) or having urine / feces on their feet and tails, and no signs ff URI like crusty noses or eyes.
They are a little more pricey than some of the online feeder providers but I've been very happy with the quality - also their "size breakdown" is a little more varied than sm/ med/ large which gives more options in my opinion

Back when I first bought from them I emailed to find out how the rats were processed and they use the carbon dioxide method, which leaves no chemical residue for your snake and is one of the faster ways to dispatch mass rodents with as little stress as possible.

I'm sure for the rats its not a completely stress free method, but its better than the way most of our own food (chickens / pigs /etc) are dealt with.

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Yeah I second PerfectPrey. They seem to be the most humane option from what I have researched (I am vegan and looked into this a lot before we got a snake, lol). Their site explains how they raise and "dispatch" them and the mice we have gotten from them look great. I think it's important to support more humane business practices when you have a pet that must eat other animals. Paying for shipping can be as much as the product itself, but because buying snake food is such an infrequent expense (for us anyway, and for people who only have a few snakes), it doesn't bother me.

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Originally Posted by TofuTofuTofu

Yeah I second PerfectPrey. They seem to be the most humane option from what I have researched (I am vegan and looked into this a lot before we got a snake, lol). Their site explains how they raise and "dispatch" them and the mice we have gotten from them look great. I think it's important to support more humane business practices when you have a pet that must eat other animals. Paying for shipping can be as much as the product itself, but because buying snake food is such an infrequent expense (for us anyway, and for people who only have a few snakes), it doesn't bother me.

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thanks so much—to everyone! Perfectprey sounds like my best option. And I don’t eat animal products either, because as others mentioned the animals are treated terribly…I don’t want to buy into that kind of business, so I don’t mind it being more expensive. especially since I only have one girl to feed.

No, i didn’t buy a fancy rat, I got a feeder. I just mentioned the fancy rats because while I was trying to find a home for this rat I looked into whether or not feeder rats could make good pets and learned they are not super different from the rats being sold as pets. Also, the pet stores never take back my rats if my snake refuses them, which is why I ended up in this position to begin with