Favorite Feeders

[SnoopySnake]

What's your favorite place to order feeders? Big cheese is sold out of what I need and I don't really like rodent pro. Thanks guys.

[EL Ziggy]

I'm not a big RP fan either. If it's not BC, I've used Layne Labs before. Their feeders and packaging are top notch but they're a little more expensive, especially their shipping charges.

[SSSSnakes]

I always get mine from the reptile expos. No shipping charges and you can see what you are getting.

[SnoopySnake]

Yeah I was looking into the vendor at the expo but it was still cheaper to buy online, even before adding in gas and admission. I think I'm going to try monster feeders, I'll let you guys know what I think.

I've heard good things about layne labs but money is a bit tight right now, I'll be trying them one day though.

[millertime89]

RodentPro or Monster Feeders usually if I can't find them local.

[serpentgirl123]

I use Big Cheese, Perfect Prey, or RodentPro depending on what is available and who is having a sale. I personally prefer the first two over RodentPro, but I have never had an issue with any of them.

[toddnbecka]

I just ordered more quail chicks from rodentpro, haven't bought from other online sellers. I raise my own mice, occasionally get rat pinks at shows.

[pet_snake_78]

Perrfectprey has the cleanest feeders I've gotten from anywhere. They also have competitive pricing.

[Humble308]

Perrfectprey has the cleanest feeders I've gotten from anywhere.

I've seen members describe feeders as "clean". Or say "xxx" place has cleaner feeders than this other place. Are we talking about general cleanliness of the frozen product or something else?

I ask mainly because I'm raising my own feeders and would prefer to do everything I can to ensure the highest quality mice. I also wouldn't mind giving away excess mice from time to time, but would never want to give something away that may hurt someones reptile.

I got my original bag of XS pinkies Sunday from rodent pro at a show...not sure you could get much cleaner with a naked baby mouse lol.

[serpentgirl123]

When I think of "clean," it is mostly in reference that the feeders (mice, rats, rabbits etc) don't have feces or urine on them, they are packed uniformly (not stuck together in such a way that I would break body parts off if I tried to pull them apart), minimal to no broken limbs or missing heads (had a couple of those), and don't smell "weird"/off.

I don't mind a little "dirtiness" but some places are far worse than others and/or the feeders cleanliness is highly inconsistent--some clean, some really dirty within the same shipment or bag.

The other main reason I like Big Cheese and Perfect Prey besides their consistent clean feeders, competitive prices, excellent communication, and prompt shipping, is because they vacuum seal which Rodent Pro doesn't. I have grown to really like that.

[SnoopySnake]

When I think of "clean," it is mostly in reference that the feeders (mice, rats, rabbits etc) don't have feces or urine on them, they are packed uniformly (not stuck together in such a way that I would break body parts off if I tried to pull them apart), minimal to no broken limbs or missing heads (had a couple of those), and don't smell "weird"/off.

I don't mind a little "dirtiness" but some places are far worse than others and/or the feeders cleanliness is highly inconsistent--some clean, some really dirty within the same shipment or bag.

The other main reason I like Big Cheese and Perfect Prey besides their consistent clean feeders, competitive prices, excellent communication, and prompt shipping, is because they vacuum seal which Rodent Pro doesn't. I have grown to really like that.

Basically all of this. I may try monster feeders soon, I think they individually wrapped and weigh each rat and they have good prices.

[Humble308]

Thanks! That describes it perfectly. In my Rodent Pro bag a couple of the pinkies have some broken off feet. To your point, I was surprised when they handed me a ziplock bag instead of something some better sealed. I was planning on vacuum sealing my own mice...if I can do it myself then there's no excuse for a big company like that not to. I am interested in how you store your mice once the vacuum seal is broken? This may be why RP does the ziplock :confused:

[serpentgirl123]

Once the vacuum seal is broken, I just squeeze as much air out as possible, fold the open plastic over, and carefully put it in a regular freezer ziplock bag. Some of the vacuum sealed bags I have gotten recently have a sealed opening so I don't usually put them in another bag.

Either way, the feeders hardly get freezer burn and/or I use them up before then. I have bigger snakes so the small to large rats don't last more than 1 or 3 feedings per bag (aka less than 2 to 3 months). The mice in bags of 20-50, it is usually 4-8months and never had a problem either and usually by then I might be feeding more per snake depending on their size.

[Humble308]

Great! appreciate the insight.

[Tiny Boidae]

I prefer this local shop by me, Feeder Supply, never have had a complaint from there. I never have misshapen mice, or dirty mice, and they're always nice and plump (I have had some mice that I picked up at an expo that kind of had this saggy skin once it thawed and very little meat to it, so I've been careful about this). They breed their own mice in the back room, as I've been back there before. It was so clean I could eat my dinner of it (or so to speak), and all of the mice were a healthy size and weren't kind of just... dead like you see in some shops (as in unresponsive). I'd walk in, they'd pick me out some mice from the freezer, and that would be that. I like the simplicity of it, although it is a chain pet store so my great review would undoubtedly be countered by a horrible one from a different store. It's also not very practical for someone with a lot of mouths to feed, but it works for someone like me and then some.

I do have a horror story about Rodentpro, as I ordered from them once because of a recommendation and never again. It was a simple order of a dozen pinkies that would last my new baby sand boa several months, and there was nothing wrong with them from appearances alone, but 1/3 of those mice had literally popped like a balloon when this boa went to constrict them. Thankfully, I fed him in a feeder tub after the first one exploded (it was a nightmare to clean), but I've never had four out of twelve mice explode like that, pinkies or otherwise, with any other place, so I've stepped away from Rodentpro. Granted, it was probably a fluke, but I'm not going to test fate again.

[SnoopySnake]

I ended up getting some from the expo since I didn't need enough to make shipping worth it yet...Very unimpressed and won't be doing it again.