I've had it up to here with buying live feeders from my local reptile shop. He had me psyched on him for awhile because of the deals he gives me, but the honeymoon phase is over as I notice more and more of his practices being ones I wouldn't dare do myself. So now it's time to start saving some money, stop risking my snakes health and move on over to F/T! I know this has been covered a million times a million different ways but it's Friday night, I've had a long week and I really can't see myself sifting through ten or fifteen threads to find what I'm after. Help a brother out!

Obstacles: I live in a house with five room mates. They're pretty chill guys, but when asked if they'd be cool with me thawing rats on the kitchen counter or even in the bathroom once a week, they were less than excited about the idea. I can't blame them, really. They also were not that excited about me keeping frozen rats in the freezer. That's okay, I can get a mini-fridge.

Questions:
1) How bad is this going to smell? I've read the healthier the specimen the less stench created. If I buy top quality rodents, will I be able to thaw them in my room all day then bring my girlfriend over without her being able to tell, or is it going to smell like a corpse?

2) If it will smell terrible, are there any inexpensive ways around this? Thawing in a Zip-Loc bag, etc.

3) Where do you get your F/T?

4) How is this usually shipped? I'm generally not home during the day. If they're just dropped off are they all going to thaw out on my porch or do I have to be home to sign for them, how's this usually work?

It's funny that the majority of my F/T concerns revolve around me being worried about just getting them and thawing them more so than I am about her taking them. I already know that's going to be a whole other battle once this half is over.