Feeders, where to buy - Jacksonville

[Icatsme]

Okay, I've got about 7 snakes that flat out refuse FT thawed, so I have to buy them feeders. Does anyone have recommendations of where to get them? I found a place with good quality feeders...however a small rat goes for $3.50.

I'm used to paying MUCH less than that per rat. Plus, the store is waaay out of my way. (I'm in Riverside/Avondale)

I do not want to breed my own, but I don't want to pay top dollar either. Help!

[Mike Cavanaugh]

You will see that Jacksonville is a HORRIBLE place to find feeders. There are a few pet shops that carry them, but they are of the lowest quality, and too expensive.

$3.50 for a small rat... That isn't bad for around here. I highly recomend buying them a week ahead of time tho. This allows time to let them have a few healthy meals with quality, clean water before being served up to your snakes.

The local market for rodents isn't very big. On top of that, recently a few of the local breeders were shut down by the city for breaking various rules. In fact, for a while Petco and Petsmart were not even allowed to buy any rodents from the breeder they were contracted with... because they were shut down by the city. Even though they could not buy from the contracted breeder, the contract made it impossible to buy from other suppliers!

Anyways, unfortunately this is the situation.... and it likely wont' get better any time soon.

What are you used to paying for live rodents????

[Xiquivo]

I just moved from Jax and honestly, the only place I ever really found was Blazin' Reptiles on San Jose. A little pricey, but they normally always had what I needed.

Jax never seemed like a good place for herpers.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Blazing reptiles is an "OK shop by Jacksonville standards." Their snake display settups are really bad (setup poorly... total disregard for humidity needs... and they keep large number of unsexed ball pythons together... I am talking 15+ hatchlings in one tank.)

Can't really say much about their rodents... they too just recently lost their rat supplier. I hear they just got someone new in the last month or two, but we will see how long that lasts.

It really is a shame. seems like the reason rodents are so hard to come by here is the dam city. Somebody in power downtown must be a snake hater / rat lover. Seems like every time a shop starts getting a steady supply of decent feeders, the next thing you know the city shuts down the breeder.

[Icatsme]

What are you used to paying for live rodents????

About $2.00 per small rat.

I just moved from Jax and honestly, the only place I ever really found was Blazin' Reptiles on San Jose. A little pricey, but they normally always had what I needed.

Jax never seemed like a good place for herpers.

Blazin Reptiles is where I went. If that's where I have to go, that's where I have to go.

Hmm, well Jax needs to get on the ball and "snake up"!! :-) I see that Jax has a Herp Society, so I was actually surprised I'm having such a hard time with the feeders. On top of that, the vet I took one of the kids to has a discount program specifically for reptiles. Most services are 50% for standard care with an annual up front premium. In light of all this, again, I'm surprised at the scarcity of feeders.

[Xiquivo]

I would get involved with the herp society then. You might get lucky and meet someone who raises their own rats and will sell you some surplus for cheaper. I ended up doing that at the end, but he was in Middleburg, which was a hell of a drive.