View Full Version : selling feeder rats
TeaNinja
06-22-11, 08:49 PM
so i called my local stupid pet store the other day to see if they needed some rats. i told her they were about the size of smalls and she said to bring 4 by. she gave me 2$ a piece for all 4 of the smalls and the price goes up with the size of the rat. then i found out they get frozen in stock also. now i can raise my baby rats, sell them to my pet store in town and use the money to buy f/t.
no more killing things :D
i'm happy about that, i hate having to kill the rats i watched grow up.
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 08:54 PM
Sounds like you are getting ripped off though.
Yea how does that make sense??
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 09:05 PM
Yea how does that make sense??
Jay knows crazy when he sees it :P
I'm gona LOL if you end up buying rats you sold to them for tripple the price.
NennaMeerkat
06-22-11, 09:10 PM
I can understand not wanting to kill off the rats you keep and raise, I totally understand that. However why not just directly trade for already f/t rats? Not sure how other people are calling it a rip off. Guess the fact of selling rats to get rats?
Honestly c02 chamber. It's humane, quick and efficient also pretty easy to make.
It could be the way he worded the statement. He may just be trading Rat for Rat which makes sense, but why would he mention selling for 2 dollars confused....
NennaMeerkat
06-22-11, 09:12 PM
Honestly c02 chamber. It's humane, quick and efficient also pretty easy to make.
Doesn't lessen the hurt when you drop them in or whatever. Especially the ones that are really gentle and sweet.
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 09:13 PM
I can understand not wanting to kill off the rats you keep and raise, I totally understand that. However why not just directly trade for already f/t rats? Not sure how other people are calling it a rip off. Guess the fact of selling rats to get rats?
Unless thats what hes paying for F/T hes getting ripped off because 4 for 2$ is CHEAP, I pay 2.50 for a rat that size F/T. If hes selling them 50C each and buying them back for 2.50(what I pay) hes getting ripped off, but if he strikes a deal where hes only losing a little money or breaking even, go for it.
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 09:15 PM
Doesn't lessen the hurt when you drop them in or whatever. Especially the ones that are really gentle and sweet.
It has allot to do with the amount of Co2 in the chamer, if you put them in with just air and slowly let the Co2 pour in its much less of a shock, they dont even run around, they silently lay down in a few seconds and die.
Doesn't lessen the hurt when you drop them in or whatever. Especially the ones that are really gentle and sweet.
I never got attached when I bred rodents. But I can understand your feeling for them.
NennaMeerkat
06-22-11, 09:22 PM
Unless thats what hes paying for F/T hes getting ripped off because 4 for 2$ is CHEAP, I pay 2.50 for a rat that size F/T. If hes selling them 50C each and buying them back for 2.50(what I pay) hes getting ripped off, but if he strikes a deal where hes only losing a little money or breaking even, go for it.
Guess that is true...if the store freezes their own rats then I am sure they could get them for just a little bit more than buying something prepackaged and shipped to the store.
TeaNinja
06-22-11, 10:04 PM
i clearly wrote that wrong. the frozen one's are pretty much going to be the same price as the live one's for me.
im basically just trading live for frozen.
and stephen you need to read lol, i said 2$ a piece for the 4 rats. that is 8$
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 10:12 PM
Its 12:11 in the morning, I'm dead tired and my dog wont stop farting so I cant sleep:P
And yes I do need to read properly, but I'm tired so there.
When in doubt blame Canada.
TeaNinja
06-22-11, 10:13 PM
goddamn canada....makin people do crazy things.... lol
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 10:15 PM
On a side note, I had a friend try and teach me how to kill rodents a few weeks ago... He took a shoe, TURNED HIS HEAD AWAY and slammed the heel down on the things head, missing twice...
At least you aren't one of those:P
NennaMeerkat
06-22-11, 10:23 PM
On a side note, I had a friend try and teach me how to kill rodents a few weeks ago... He took a shoe, TURNED HIS HEAD AWAY and slammed the heel down on the things head, missing twice...
At least you aren't one of those:P
That is just AWFUL! Honestly people need to have a bit more feeling. I will however say that I had a rat I rescued that had really really bad upper respitory (sorry I can't spell) infection where he had a lot of the red phlem rats have coming from his eyes and nose. Ended up having to put him out of his misery after two days. He could barely breathe. That was the one time we used a shovel...but the rat was really unresponsive and in pain.
Ug...why do I say these things...I feel bad all over again.
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 10:26 PM
Take comfort in the fact that its out of its misery.
NennaMeerkat
06-22-11, 10:57 PM
Oh yeah it was hard but we didn't want to see him in pain. If we could have we would have taken him to our vet at the time...but we couldn't let him be in pain until the morning. I never wanna do it again.
stephanbakir
06-22-11, 10:59 PM
Breaking their necks is much easier on you then the gruesome mess a shovel makes.
NennaMeerkat
06-22-11, 11:09 PM
Breaking their necks is much easier on you then the gruesome mess a shovel makes.
True that...but we used some old towels that were scrapped anyway to cover him with so all we had to do was pick up the scrapped towels and toss the entire thing. Though we did bury the bundle instead of really "tossing" him.
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 01:19 AM
sad =/
It's very cute how attached you guys are to your rats :)
I grew up on a ranch, so I've been completely desensitized to both killing things I've raised since a baby (sometimes even bottle feeding), and killing rodents. Although there was one particular steer that I had a really hard time pulling the trigger for... :(
My family has been going on annual rat shoots for 25 years now. Every year we travel to mid eastern oregon, find a local rancher with a sage rat problem, and shoot away. On a good year we have been known to shoot 8000 rounds. Even at a 50% accuracy rate that would be 4000 rats, I would say I'm probably about 80%. That and 2 other events is the highlight of my year.
It's amazing the difference in animal preference between different people.
I imagine there's people in Argentina that think Tegu's make great dinner and kill them at first sight! :O
stephanbakir
06-23-11, 05:18 AM
Reptiles in general are tasty :)
Lankyrob
06-23-11, 05:19 AM
It is funny to read - i worked on a farm (volunteered) form age 12 -16 and had no issues with humanely killing any animals that needed it - especially those that were sick already.
My wife cringed in the past when i took a cat up to the end of the garden after it had been hit by a car - i just pre-dig the grave and then put it out of its misery before burying it.
Dehlida
06-23-11, 09:38 AM
You could easily sell those rats for more privately.. As a breeder, I can honestly say selling the rats (both as pets, and feeders) privately makes me probably double the money of selling them to a shop- plus they buy in bulk and keep coming back regularly. ;)
Oh- and if you can't seperate yourself from the emotional attachement I would really suggest not breeding rats at all, make life easier on yourself....
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 09:43 AM
LOL, oh man.....stop breeding rats.....IS IT THAT EASY????
that's the worst advice i've heard in weeks. not only will most people buy rats from the pet store if they need them, but just because i don't like mercilessly killing things doesn't mean i shouldn't breed rats. grow a heart.
Oh- and if you can't seperate yourself from the emotional attachement I would really suggest not breeding rats at all, make life easier on yourself....
kind of a pricky comment i'd say.
Dehlida
06-23-11, 10:17 AM
Not trying to come off the wrong way- but this is the way the reptile hobby works. I fail to see the point in taking the rats to the pet store to sell them only to buy frozen ones. Who knows what happens to the rats after they hit the store. Have you ever been in the back of the pet stores, or seen what happens to the rats?
Frankly, I'd rather kill and freeze them myself where I know what I'm doing is 100% instant and pain free- as opposed to the slow deaths from various diseases found in most pet stores, along with the cramped display cages etc.
You aren't avoiding killing them because you have the rats best interest in mind, you're avoiding it because you don't like doing the dirty work.
Again, not trying to come off the wrong way, just being realistic here.
Jenn_06
06-23-11, 10:25 AM
i have to say im with Dehlida when you take your rats to the pet store(in most) they are going to get put in a 10gl tank with about 20+ other rats and stay there until someone buys it a will be feed to a snake live. thats a painful death. you dont want to see your rats in pain C02 them. if you do it right its pain free and you will not feel at bad.
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 10:25 AM
your realism is more like idiocy to me. they don't kill their live rats, they have f/t shipped if they need them. the rats live in perfectly fine cages and even though a lot of the rats at pet stores become feeders, some become pets. i figure if i can breed rats, give them a chance to get adopted, and Still have the same f/t feeders without having to kill and freeze them, i'll take that in a heart beat.
i've already seen the rat setups and they are fine.
Dehlida
06-23-11, 10:32 AM
your realism is more like idiocy to me. they don't kill their live rats, they have f/t shipped if they need them. the rats live in perfectly fine cages and even though a lot of the rats at pet stores become feeders, some become pets. i figure if i can breed rats, give them a chance to get adopted, and Still have the same f/t feeders without having to kill and freeze them, i'll take that in a heart beat.
i've already seen the rat setups and they are fine.
So now you turn to personal insults and self defense when I no more than make a suggestion based upon the simple facts of how the reptile and pet industries work? Seems rather immature if I'm honest.
Fact is- you have no way of knowing for sure where those rats are going or what is happening to them AFTER they leave your hands at the store. Diseases can't be seen from the cages, you don't know what actually happens. You saw the cage, whoopy. Have you seen the way they take care of each individual animal every day? No, have you been able to screen buyers? No. Who knows, those 4 rats could have gone to someone bored with a hungry Tegu- who's going to let them be painfully destroyed by a larger predator.
$8 was sure worth it!
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 10:42 AM
funny, i never once insulted you in any way. i said your opinion of what is "realism" is BS, but that has nothing to do with insulting you. you say you were making "suggestions based upon simple facts of how the reptile and pet industries work" let me back track once again and tell you you're wrong, and not all pet stores are bad. you say i don't know what's happening to them once i'm gone, once again you're wrong. you're right about me not being able to psychically tell if any have diseases. i HAVE seen the way they take care of their animals daily. can i screen buyers, of course not. would i want to, of course not.
as far as your stupid tegu comment, they were either going to get their necks snapped or fed to a snake live, so it can't be too much worse.
if they do get fed to something live, that sucks. at least it's not me having to watch them die. i hope that they find good homes.
and you missed the point 100%, i never did it for the 8$. i did it so i wouldn't have to kill the feeders myself. i don't feel great about it and my mom hates it, she's kind of a hippy.
Dehlida
06-23-11, 10:49 AM
Necks snapped is humane and instant, as I assume you know how to do it. Not to mention live feeding of rats to a snake? Clearly you haven't had a snake get chewed on or bit by a rat yet, it will happen sooner or later and you'll regret it.
The sad part is- and this is where I will drop it. You would rather sell the rats to an unknown fate simply because you don't want the responsibility of killing the rats- the same rats you produced as food stock. You are more concerned with that- then what is happening to the animals themselves, and that is in and of itself- selfish. I maintain you should not be breeding rats at all if you can't handle dispatching them.
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 10:50 AM
you are entitled to your opinion :)
and that "unknown fate" you speak of is either going to be the same fate i would have given them, or better, they'd be adopted. so i still feel you're wrong.
and no, my snakes don't get chewed on because i watch them eat whenever they eat live. and i only have 1 of my 3 snakes left to switch to f/t.
NennaMeerkat
06-23-11, 12:56 PM
Hey Tea as another past breeder of mice and having had people said the same thing to me I would just say ignore them and move on hun. They (like a lot of other people) only look at rats and mice as food items. If I raised the mouse I would and could never just blink and kill it. Also I know the store you are talking about, since it has been on a couple of shows since it took in all those rats from that hoarding show, and you are right the rats are in nice large homes that are more than what I have seen plenty of rescued rats being in. Personally I think you are doing a great thing...
1. You are raising great rats to become pets that are tame
2. You are raising healthy rats for feeding that people can know where the rat came from
It was those two reasons I had started breeding mice way back when. You are just lucky to have a store that is competent and willing to take your ratties. I had to sell my mice to people directly and it was hard to sell off some of my sweethearts to be feeders. But it was also another reason why the people that did buy for feeders came to me...my mice were so tame they didn't attack the snakes or the people.
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 01:52 PM
indeed, thank you. :)
i clearly wrote that wrong. the frozen one's are pretty much going to be the same price as the live one's for me.
im basically just trading live for frozen.
and stephen you need to read lol, i said 2$ a piece for the 4 rats. that is 8$
That makes sense lol
and that "unknown fate" you speak of is either going to be the same fate i would have given them, or better, they'd be adopted. so i still feel you're wrong.
and no, my snakes don't get chewed
You've really got to grow some thicker skin Ninja :)
What he's getting at, is if you humanly, and painless killed your rats you would seal their fate, leaving no chance for a slow and painful death.
Personally, I think it would be much "kinder" to dispatch them yourself, but as you said, we are all entitled to our own opinion :)
Also, that last thing about your snakes don't get chewed on. For one, he said that to make a point about how painful it is for a rat to be fed live, not a stab at your husbandry or your snakes health.
Second, you don't have much control, if any at all over your snake getting chewed on one the rodent is in the snakes grasp. If you think otherwise, I'd really like to be shown proof. Otherwise the only other way to stop it is by crushing the skull with a pair of pliers, which I would assume you don't have the stomach to do.
I think if you came into the conversation expecting praise, instead of insult, you could have avoided the confusion, and the bulk of this nasty conversation.
Lastly,
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa100/MotoMax777/internet_serious_business_cat_EPIC_motis_part5_The _Interweb_fails_me-s640x480-50417.jpg
;)
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 04:20 PM
im kind of sick of posting at this point but i'll give it one more try before i go out. iunno why people keep saying things like not having the stomach to kill. i can kill whatever i want and i don't turn my head and blindly bash it with a shoe as someone else said, i just choose not to and feel bad when i do it. i killed a litter and a half of the rats before i hooked up with the pet shop and found the alternative. as for the getting chewed on, yes it can happen in an instant but if i saw the rat chewing the snake i'd stop it quickly before it became lethal. also the only snake eating live is the snake i just got recently and switched to rat pups. once i get her weaned its back to only f/t.
if it's between killing them instantly now, or giving them a 70/30 chance of being feeders/pets, i feel better about that. plus i don't have to wait for them to grow to large/jumbo for my big snake, i can just sell a few mediums and buy f/t.
as for the thicker skin, you're right. i've always had that sensitivity issue.
also that cat is fat as hell, and it's purcing its lips.
Dehlida
06-23-11, 04:25 PM
im kind of sick of posting at this point but i'll give it one more try before i go out. iunno why people keep saying things like not having the stomach to kill. i can kill whatever i want and i don't turn my head and blindly bash it with a shoe as someone else said, i just choose not to and feel bad when i do it. i killed a litter and a half of the rats before i hooked up with the pet shop and found the alternative. as for the getting chewed on, yes it can happen in an instant but if i saw the rat chewing the snake i'd stop it quickly before it became lethal. also the only snake eating live is the snake i just got recently and switched to rat pups. once i get her weaned its back to only f/t.
if it's between killing them instantly now, or giving them a 70/30 chance of being feeders/pets, i feel better about that. plus i don't have to wait for them to grow to large/jumbo for my big snake, i can just sell a few mediums and buy f/t.
as for the thicker skin, you're right. i've always had that sensitivity issue.
also that cat is fat as hell, and it's purcing its lips.
Before it came lethal? So you are still admitting risk to the snake by biting? This is what we are getting at, not lethal, but the fact the rat will get many bites off before you can stop it- period. I'm a very very fast person, and even I had a mouse bite a snake several times before I could stop it the fastest way I could.
Lankyrob
06-23-11, 04:30 PM
Personally i think Tea is more than aware of the risks of live feeding and that is why he has moved all bar his latest snake over to f/t and is in the process of doinf the same with her.
I also agree with him that if there is a choice between certain death now and possible death or adoption later then the second choice is the way to go.
TeaNinja
06-23-11, 04:35 PM
Before it came lethal? So you are still admitting risk to the snake by biting? This is what we are getting at, not lethal, but the fact the rat will get many bites off before you can stop it- period. I'm a very very fast person, and even I had a mouse bite a snake several times before I could stop it the fastest way I could.
lol of course there is some risk of a snake getting bit while eating, but there is a risk anyone's snake could have a seizure tomorrow and die, that doesn't mean it will happen.
i don't even know what you're arguing anymore. as rob said i don't like live feeding or it's possible reprocusions any more then you do and i'm taking steps to switch to f/t with everything.
you're point is rats can bite your snake if you feed live, i never said they couldn't.
im kind of sick of posting at this point but i'll give it one more try before i go out. iunno why people keep saying things like not having the stomach to kill. i can kill whatever i want and i don't turn my head and blindly bash it with a shoe as someone else said, i just choose not to and feel bad when i do it. i killed a litter and a half of the rats before i hooked up with the pet shop and found the alternative. as for the getting chewed on, yes it can happen in an instant but if i saw the rat chewing the snake i'd stop it quickly before it became lethal. also the only snake eating live is the snake i just got recently and switched to rat pups. once i get her weaned its back to only f/t.
if it's between killing them instantly now, or giving them a 70/30 chance of being feeders/pets, i feel better about that. plus i don't have to wait for them to grow to large/jumbo for my big snake, i can just sell a few mediums and buy f/t.
as for the thicker skin, you're right. i've always had that sensitivity issue.
also that cat is fat as hell, and it's purcing its lips.
Well, I wasn't trying to take any stabs at you or anything, but you don't need to reply to me if you don't want to :)
Just throwing what few cents I had left in on the subject.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa100/MotoMax777/internet_serious_business_cat_EPIC_motis_part5_The _Interweb_fails_me-s640x480-50417-1.jpg
Haha
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