wow, 8 dollars for a medium rat. you really need to order some frozen rats online, or stack up at a reptile show.

stupid question.... you are not buying pet rats, are you? 8 dollars looks like a pet price. you get feeder rats, which are basically the same, by asking for them in the reptile section of the store, feeder animals are not on display and the price is much lower. for the regular customer they are basically invisible. some very small stores may not have them, but most pet stores have them.

i dont think trying to get BPs to grow slower by restricting food makes any sense. a fully grown adult is not dangerous and not even intimidating, and can easily be handled even if you tie one arm behind your back. it should not be done without good reason, and i see no good reason. it only makes sense for truly gigantic species where it takes 2 or 3 people to safely handle an adult, like burms, retics, or green anacondas.