It is considerably less expensive to buy f/t mice or rats than live ones if you buy from the right sources. Where I live a pet store will charge $1.49 for a live mouse or $4.59 for a small rat. For $1.25 or less you can find f/t small rats at a local reptile show or online. The catch online is that you need to buy at least 100 rats to get a good price after factoring in the shipping. Some places (like ARS) feature free shipping to certain areas of the country for orders over $100.Your best bet might be to post here what area of what State that you live in and somebody on here could point you to the local reptile shows where you could buy small quantities of f/t at a good price.