Feeder Rodent Businesses Closing?

[wilomn]

This just doesn't sound right. Or maybe it's a little right, but not to the degree you seem to be implying. I have never, in decades of rodent feeding, seen a rat with its throat cut. That I'd like some proof of before I actually believe it.

Not everyone is just shoveling rat crap to make a dime more. Some do it the best they can, this I personally know. I also know that it IS a crappy business with some really reprehensible people in it, which is why I am willing to believe what you say provided you produce some proof. Short of that, sounds a lot like sour grapes to me.

???

[EAC Reptiles]

I can personally say that is have got a bunch of jumbo rats with their throats cut. I no longer feed frozen so I do not have any to take a picture of but I have seen them, just never put much thought into it.

[wilomn]

I can personally say that is have got a bunch of jumbo rats with their throats cut. I no longer feed frozen so I do not have any to take a picture of but I have seen them, just never put much thought into it.

How many and who did they come from? In all the years I've been doing this I have never heard of throat cut rats being sold as feeders. Ever try to hold an adult rat? Ever imagine trying to hold one of those slippery buggers down while slitting it's throat? Umpossable. I suppose there could be a device or machine for such, but it's just so far fetched and impractical.

[EAC Reptiles]

I think there were close to 10 or so. I don't know who they came from, it was awhile ago. I also have had mice from rodent pro with no heads.

[Slitherous]

I can't breed my own rodents as I live in a small apartment, and my landlords would freak. I even had to pay a deposit to have my snakes, (and lizards), and they made me promise in writing to only feed F/T to the snakes and mealworms to the lizards.....no crickets allowed, (specifically so I would not try to breed my own, I had to promise so they would allow me to have the critters). Though I could try to do it on the sly, it's not worth an eviction notice. So, I'm always looking for a better mousetrap so to speak. The chain pet stores are hugely overpriced on F/T IMHO, but I found a locally-owned mom & pop who breed their own and charge about a third less than the biggies do. Only problem is they are occasionally out for weeks at a time, so I have to stock up when I can. I will probably give Layne Labs or Rodent Pro a try one of these days, but the shipping costs are brutal and it's only cost effective per-rodent if you order upwards of a hundred at a time. It just so happens that the mom & pop sells F/T mice so cheap I can buy three mice for the cost of one rat of any size, (even teens and fuzzies). Therefore my snakes, even the adults, get fed large mice most of the time. It costs me less to feed three large mice than one med rat, so other than my biggest female, (who gets a med rat usually), all the snakes are usually fed smaller, more frequent meals, (shhh, don't tell the snakes, they just think I'm spoiling them!). I pay $1.89 for mice, while any rat is $5.99

As to cleanliness when breeding rodents, like all things it depends how it's done. I've seen large-scale pet-specific rodent facilities that smelled like an ammonia factory, mainly because they just didn't bother to keep it consistently clean. However, I have also seen large-scale lab facilities that were breeding rodents for scientific purposes where you could eat off the floor and couldn't smell much of anything. I bred my share of rodents in past decades, and if cleaned regularly the smell can be managed, but it is labor intensive. I agree with whoever suggested harem breeding, that's the way to go.

S

[C&H Exotic Morphs]

How many and who did they come from? In all the years I've been doing this I have never heard of throat cut rats being sold as feeders. Ever try to hold an adult rat? Ever imagine trying to hold one of those slippery buggers down while slitting it's throat? Umpossable. I suppose there could be a device or machine for such, but it's just so far fetched and impractical.

I was completely with you until I was browsing the feeder section on Fauna and low and behold someone is selling cutthroat mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits! Apparently the drain the blood for the plasma. So my guess would be they have some kind of a device they mount the rodent in to slit the throat and drain the blood.

[wilomn]

I was completely with you until I was browsing the feeder section on Fauna and low and behold someone is selling cutthroat mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits! Apparently the drain the blood for the plasma. So my guess would be they have some kind of a device they mount the rodent in to slit the throat and drain the blood.

hmmmmm, I seem to have missed that one. got a link?

[MarkS]

Many years ago I did get a load of frozen mice shipped to me with the thoats cut. I can't remember the name of the place I ordered them from, but I believe they were from AZ and they went out of business a long time ago. The cuts were not side to side but from chin to sternum. I assumed that these had been lab mice that had been euthanized and something removed from their throats to study under a microscope or something like that. I never really thought much about it until reading about these throat cut rats.

[C&H Exotic Morphs]

hmmmmm, I seem to have missed that one. got a link?

Sorry about that, I thought I posted the link but obviously forgot to.
Here it is.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=368230

[wilomn]

I did see that one but I thought he misspelled rate as rat.

I sent him a pm for clarity and will let you know if he answers.