We have a problem

[Jay_Bunny]

Our supplier of live feeders for Xefaud and Sadis (our baby ball pythons) is officially shutting down on September 23rd. We can get live feeders from them until then but what happens after. We want to eventually switch the balls over to f/t but for a while we want to keep them on live to make sure they eat. This could prove a problem if the petstore closes and we no longer have a source of live feeders. We could get live from expos, but those come only once every few weeks to once every few months, so not a reliable supply. None of the other petstores in the area sell live, but there are two we have yet to check, so we'll be checking those soon. One I'm not sure I want to buy from because when I went in there, thier ball python was in a tank with bark chips looking substrate, a water dish, a hollow log he could barely fit into and a heat lamp. Not the best for a ball, so I don't really know about them. They mostly specialize in dogs since they always have a bunch of puppies. The other store is really far away. Like, 45min away and we don't know exactly where it is. So unless we can find this other petstore and see if they sell live feeders or we find that the closer petstore sells good feeders, we are stuck. Any suggestions?

[rushchaser]

You may want to ask the pet store where they get their feeders from and contact that person

[frankykeno]

That is a problem Jay. With them being such young and small snakes you really have very little leeway on what they can eat sizewise. Your options would be to either find another supplier that can guarantee they'd have the required sizes each week, switch them to frozen/thawed or consider using mice instead of rats as feeder mice are easier to get usually in the right size. Really it's up to you but it's too bad a good supplier is shutting down...what a hassle for you!

[Jay_Bunny]

They are already on mice. We have to go there next Saturday to pick up feeders so I can ask then. I don't want to have to start breeding for feeders now. We don't have enough snakes for that. (it would give me a reason to get more snakes though. ) But honestly, we need to find a supplier. We can't exactly keep live feeders alive for weeks. It would A) get too expensive and B) Live feeders grow and I'd hate to end up with a feeder that is too big.

[GirDance]

See if any reptile breeders in your area keep feeders on site that they have an excess of which they sell. I have that here, and they are great.

[Jay_Bunny]

I'm not sure of any breeders in my area. But to anyone reading this, if you do happen to have live feeders and are near or in Richmond, Va, please send me a PM.

[rabernet]

Are there no Petco's or Petland's in Richmond? Both sell live feeders.

[Jay_Bunny]

The Petco nearest us is not only 30 min away, but they don't sell live feeders. They sell mice, but not feeders. So naturally, they are very expensive and full grown. And I have no idea where there is a Petland nearby.