Question I can't seem to find the answer to. :C

[j_h_smith]

Or, you could ask when the frozen rat delivery occurs at the shop you're buying these rats from. Then camp out in front of the store during that time. Talk to the guy making the delivery, maybe he'll deliver right to your door. Might be worth a shot.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[Bree]

You might want to see if there are any local herp societies or people you could hook up with. Also check Craigslist or the Recycler for your area. Often times feeders are on one or the other of those.

[MissLeMew]

Ok im lost here.

You paid $21.50 for 4 small frozen rats? Thats $5.375 per rat.

Say a bag of 25 frozen online is $30 shipping is $30 thats $60

Thats $2.40 per rat.

I dont see how "so ordering a 25 count bag of sm rats with a shipping fee of 30-50 dollars is out of the question. Can't afford it, and it defeats the purpose of saving money." makes any sense what so ever. Not to mention if you buy 2 bags your only paying $1.80 per rat.

Just lost as how "it defeats the purpose of saving money" when ur paying 2.975 less per rat. And thats not including the gas money and time u spend to go to the pet store.

http://rodentpro.com/qc.asp

I just don't see how paying double the price of the actual bag of rats just for shipping actually saves money. And they all eat about 1-2 rats a week, so if I buy two bags of 25 rats, that's roughly two months that rats are sitting in my freezer, losing scent and getting frostbite. They'd just be wasted. I know, it's happened before.

That wasn't the exact price, there were some pennies in there, and I forgot off the top of my head. I'm suprised you went as far as to do the math just to prove me wrong.

The pet store is two feet away from my house. I could throw a rock out my front door and break one of their windows, so I'm not really wasting gas. And even if I did find a place that sells wholesale that's farther away, I'd much rather spend the money on the gas to get there (it takes $15-$20 to get to boston and back from my house... a lot less than $40 in shipping) because I'd be able to buy in bulk and save more money anyways.

I'll probably just end up breeding my own in a few months anyways, like I said earlier, so yeah. I'm not trying be be an a**, and I do realize that you are trying to help and I thank you for it. It's just frustrating when you get a paycheck, and it's gone in a few hours. I'll look around on rodentpro because you're right, it does cost less, but spending that much money at one time tends to cause problems sometimes. Thanks, and sorry for the misunderstanding.

[cinderbird]

I just don't see how paying double the price of the actual bag of rats just for shipping actually saves money. And they all eat about 1-2 rats a week, so if I buy two bags of 25 rats, that's roughly two months that rats are sitting in my freezer, losing scent and getting frostbite. They'd just be wasted. I know, it's happened before.

That wasn't the exact price, there were some pennies in there, and I forgot off the top of my head. I'm suprised you went as far as to do the math just to prove me wrong.

The pet store is two feet away from my house. I could throw a rock out my front door and break one of their windows, so I'm not really wasting gas. And even if I did find a place that sells wholesale that's farther away, I'd much rather spend the money on the gas to get there (it takes $15-$20 to get to boston and back from my house... a lot less than $40 in shipping) because I'd be able to buy in bulk and save more money anyways.

I'll probably just end up breeding my own in a few months anyways, like I said earlier, so yeah. End of story. Sorry to have pissed you off.

if your rats are getting freezer burned in two months they aren't being stored properly. Look into one of those economy sealer things (i can't remember what they are called) but they vacuum out the air and stuff. There a are few affordable models that work really well available.

Frozen rodents should be able to last 6 months in the freezer.

Here is what i do with mine:

I buy a bulk amount of rats. Lets say there are 30 in the bag. I take the bag when i get home and separate it into 3-5 smaller bags of rats. This way when I am taking them out for my snakes only the rats that will be used that month even leave the freezer. When that bag is done i just keep it in the freezer to refill with my next purchase. This limits the amount of rats that come into contact with the air that i'm not planning on using.

[MissLeMew]

Alrighty, thanks. :3

Sorry for being testy! I try not to get frustrated about a lot of things, but it's rather hard when you've got a short fuse.

I usually keep my rats in the bag they come in, and then I'll put them in another ziplock and a paper bag, and just throw them in there... I should probably not let the air in, as it probably helps the scent die. I'll look into the airlock bags as soon as I can. My work uses them, and the month old rats that come out of them are still pretty stinky... I'll see if they don't have any in the storage room that are not being used

I went ahead and ordered another bag from rodent pro. I figure my snakes being healthy is way more important than the price I spend on their food. It'll be easier once I get rats to breed, though.

Thanks for the help, and sorry for being a grouch!

[BuckeyeBalls]

I just don't see how paying double the price of the actual bag of rats just for shipping actually saves money. And they all eat about 1-2 rats a week, so if I buy two bags of 25 rats, that's roughly two months that rats are sitting in my freezer, losing scent and getting frostbite. They'd just be wasted. I know, it's happened before.

That wasn't the exact price, there were some pennies in there, and I forgot off the top of my head. I'm suprised you went as far as to do the math just to prove me wrong.

The pet store is two feet away from my house. I could throw a rock out my front door and break one of their windows, so I'm not really wasting gas. And even if I did find a place that sells wholesale that's farther away, I'd much rather spend the money on the gas to get there (it takes $15-$20 to get to boston and back from my house... a lot less than $40 in shipping) because I'd be able to buy in bulk and save more money anyways.

I'll probably just end up breeding my own in a few months anyways, like I said earlier, so yeah. I'm not trying be be an a**, and I do realize that you are trying to help and I thank you for it. It's just frustrating when you get a paycheck, and it's gone in a few hours. I'll look around on rodentpro because you're right, it does cost less, but spending that much money at one time tends to cause problems sometimes. Thanks, and sorry for the misunderstanding.

But the math doesnt lie. The math i provided was for a bag of mice + shipping to cape cod and still was about half the price your paying now. You figure $2 less on 20 mice is $40 you save. Im not trying to prove anyone wrong. You dont want to do it and spend $40 more buying from a pet shop so be it. But i wont argue that its a rip off to pay $40 for shipping with the mice cost $20 i dont disagree there. But in the end its cheaper.

Alrighty, thanks. :3

Sorry for being testy! I try not to get frustrated about a lot of things, but it's rather hard when you've got a short fuse.

I usually keep my rats in the bag they come in, and then I'll put them in another ziplock and a paper bag, and just throw them in there... I should probably not let the air in, as it probably helps the scent die. I'll look into the airlock bags as soon as I can. My work uses them, and the month old rats that come out of them are still pretty stinky... I'll see if they don't have any in the storage room that are not being used

I went ahead and ordered another bag from rodent pro. I figure my snakes being healthy is way more important than the price I spend on their food. It'll be easier once I get rats to breed, though.

Thanks for the help, and sorry for being a grouch!

Also rodentpro attends local reptile shows. They attend the ones in ohio thats how i buy em locally and dont pay for the shipping. I would still check around at a local pet show.

And once again im not trying to prove you wrong, make you feel stupid im just simply saying that paying the $40 shipping for a $20 bag of rats is still saving u money in the end.

Best of luck sorry if i came off the wrong way

[WingedWolfPsion]

If spoilage is a huge concern, get your rats here:
http://www.themousefactory.com/

They vacuum pack them, and I've never seen such gorgeous mice and rats--they look like they went to a beautician before they were frozen, lol.

They're only a bit more expensive than RodentPro, and EVEN WITH shipping costs, they STILL cost less than what you paid for yours.

Buy 6 months worth--they'll keep perfectly, and you won't have to worry about it.

I use RodentPro, but I have 41 snakes. If I only had a few, I would use Mouse Factory, because the quality is higher and they keep longer.

[BuckeyeBalls]

I use RodentPro, but I have 41 snakes. If I only had a few, I would use Mouse Factory, because the quality is higher and they keep longer.

I use RodentPro only because it comes to Columbus reptile show

[Aleria]

Like a lot of others that can't or don't want to go to the trouble of breeding my own rats I also order online in bulk. I've never run into an issue with buying 6 months worth of food at at time for my 2 boas and always repackage them in better ziplock bags when I order from any of the suppliers that don't use the best sealing methods. Never ran into an issue with freezer burn or the snakes refusing because the rats have gone bad.

[MissLeMew]

Thanks everyone! Again, sorry for being a testy brat.

I'll look into mouse factory, as I've heard nothing but good things about them... but not for a bit anyways. I've got 50 rats coming tomorrow. :3

Thanks again for the help!