Ordering frozen: is it worth it?

I've been really put-off to the frozen rodents in the area lately. They often seem old, and tonight two of the three that I bought were covered in urine. :bleh:

So I'd like to try ordering online from a company that specializes in frozen rodents. The problem is this: I only have three snakes, all of which eat a different size prey. (mice hoppers, adult mice, and rat pups) :crying:

Most online companies offer prey in packages of 25-50 or more. They won't allow me to purchase smaller groupings, and since it would only be one snake eating out of each package, it doesn't seem to be worth it. The food would go bad long before I had a chance to make use of it.

Are there any other options for me? I can't breed my own food, and I can't order large quantities of frozen feeders.

:confused:

Umm... why would the food go bad? Just get a vacuum sealer (a great help for normal kitchen things as well) and you're set. Sealed like that, rodents can last up to a year if kept frozen.

25-50 isn't bad. Just get a package of each size, making sure they cover from small end to larger within that size for growth, and you'll save on shipping as well. :)

rat pup and adult mice seem close in weight from most companies that produce rodents. why not try and see if the two snakes that feed on rat pups and adult mice will feed on one or the other so u only make two order sizes instead of three.

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Originally Posted by bruster

rat pup and adult mice seem close in weight from most companies that produce rodents. why not try and see if the two snakes that feed on rat pups and adult mice will feed on one or the other so u only make two order sizes instead of three.

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Tried that; not that simple. -lol-
As for purchasing a vacuum sealer, well that was only out of the question because I didn't know I could do that. How much does one cost and where might I find one?

why go out of your way and buy a vacuum sealer and spend all the time vacuum sealing, when Big Cheese does it for you :gj:

They're not the only ones who vacuum seal for you, but I am a satisfied customer of theirs :)

Big Cheese was the main company I was looking at. But once I open the package it's no longer vacuum sealed, and the food will only last a few months. At least, that's what I thought.

vacuum sealed...it will last MUCH longer than a few months. I'd put a bet on 1 year or more if it's a good seal.

Of course... but the point is that once you open that seal it's not vacumm packed any longer and you have to repack it.

I got my sealer from WalMart. They're kinda expensive at $70-$100, but they pay for themselves in the amount of money they save you for stored foods NOT going bad...as well as the ability to keep frozen rodents good a lot longer. :)
Mine is a FoodSaver. Works great!

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Mine is a FoodSaver. Works great!

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I couldn't agree more! I've had my FoodSaver for a long, long time now and it just keeps on working!
We have 4 snakes between my son and myself, 3 feeder sizes going right now and we order from The Mouse Factory (love them too!). We just open a vacuumed sealed bag, get the rats out and seal it back up again...they last forever (well, until we need to order more anyway!). A vacuum sealer really is the way to go and you will use it for your actual food too...they do save a lot of money in the long run.

Another option would be to see if you have a reptile show that is in your area. Rodent Pro comes to all of the reptile shows in my area. I can just buy from them while at the show. You may have a frozen rodent vendor at your show. You could most likely call them ahead of time, and order a certain amount. I'm sure they could hook you up.

If you would rather purchase online, American Rodent Supply is great quality frozen rodents. I like their packaging better than any other frozen rodents suppliers that I have bought from.

Hope this helps.

Personally I'd go with The Mouse Factory if you're wanting top quality. Phone them and ask for Edna. Explain what you are feeding and she'll help you get the best bang for your buck. If you have concerns about how long any prey item is good to use, the folks that produce f/t prey items are the right people to ask I think.

Their product comes vacuum packed. Once you open the package and remove a few prey items simply put the whole package inside a good ziplock freezer grade storage bag, express the air manually and you're good to go. Either that or simply buy some Glad Press n Seal freezer wrap and wrap the left over prey in that (just leave it in it's original packaging and after expressing any air, wrap it solidly).

I can't see the need for an expensive machine really. If you're concerned about opening a big package every week, then just quickly re-pack the bigger quantities into weekly feeding packages. If you need 2 rat pups and 1 mouse per week then grab the Press n Seal and make your weekly packages up like that.

There is also a product sold at WalMart (sorry I can't remember the name atm) which pumps the air out of a freezer storage bag. My husband says it retails for under $10.00 so I'll have him get me the information on it for you. I think Robin also was telling me about seeing this new product recently.

Thanks a bunch, Jo - that was the most helpful answer yet! :D I'll have a look into all of your suggestions.

Here it is. Reynolds Handi Vac.

http://www.handivacoffer.com/?tid=33...FQQbFQod1gGRSg

It's a very nifty little item and one I'm going to purchase for my own kitchen but I think it would be of great use to you if you need to re-package frozen rodents. Can't beat the price really and since the whole point is to remove the air, well I think it would achieve that quite nicely without spending a ton of money. :)

My husband works for WalMart and says they stock this item plus the bags that go with it so I'm assuming it would be available in most major store chains.

I have three of those, since I was in the right place at the right time and got two for free a week after buying one. :) If you like, I could send you one for just the shipping. :D And yes, they're at WalMart.

Thing is, they don't do as good a job as the actual vac sealers and they eat batteries like no ones business! Still, they're pretty good in a pinch, and we use ours for little things when we don't want to get out the FoodSaver. I would still recommend getting a vac sealer someday simply for the better job, but it doesn't have to be now. :)

For my collection, and me living in a situation in which I am able to breed rodents I have been slowly switching everything over to FT. Doing larger orders is more worthwhile for myself. This last time around, I ordered roughly 175 items.

That order lasts me roughly two months for the 17 of 23 snakes that I've successfully switched over to frozen. The remaining snakes I just break down and buy live, they only get offered live after they refuse the thawed rodent that I offer.

So for me, it works REALLY well. However, it definitely is a LOT of rats and mice to thaw, and when it comes to reordering it isn't exactly cheap. But I go with American Rodent Supply because I'm in their free shipping zone w/$100 minimum purchase.

I LOVE the quality of rats, and haven't experienced "blowouts" like I have with RodentPro. All of theirs come simply bagged in ziplock heavy duty freezer bags, so for my two month use that's fine, but if I were making larger orders, say 6 months worth, I would rebag them in those space bag things.

Heck, even for a collection of three snakes, I'd say the savings in the long run versus buying from Petco or Petsmart would be worth it.

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Originally Posted by jknudson

Heck, even for a collection of three snakes, I'd say the savings in the long run versus buying from Petco or Petsmart would be worth it.

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Just about anything is cheaper than buying f/t from petco or petsmart. I went in to petsmart the other day to try and pick up some f/t mice, it was $10.95 for 4 medium mice! I get most of my f/t from NERD since their prices are pretty good and I can go in and pick them out myself but now my collection is growing even more and I'm looking into some of the mailorder places and I'm gonna compare how it breaks down with shipping and everything.