How to determine quality of brought frozen rats

[DanSnow]

As the title says, if you are going to buy frozen rats from a store, what do you need to look out for to ensure quality fr your snake?

 

[abnrmal91]

Taste lol .Avoid Pisces rat they are terrible, just look for rats that are clean, no substrate/poo stuck to them. They should look fresh if you know what I mean (hard to explain). Once your defrost them you should be able to tell from smell if they are old. It will smell worse then normal.

 

[nagini-baby]

no obvious discolouration or smell. also that they are actually frozen and not rotting half thawed.

 

[nico77]

I have seen pet shops thaw out piles of rats on top off there freezers so they could be bagged up into smaller lots and then refrozen , which i think is pretty dodgy , so i buy from a breeder and the quality and price is much better . The breeder feeds their rats all sorts of grain , seed , veg and fruit so the rats are not stuffed full of pellet food and better for the snakes eatting them .

Pretty happy getting 647 gram rats for $9

 

[Fuscus]

Look at the pinkies. If there is any black discolouration in or near the gut - avoid.
Better yet - find a breeder

 

[Renenet]

Taste lol .Avoid Pisces rat they are terrible.

Yum, rat!

Those Pisces rats are the only ones available in the pet shops around here. I was wondering what the quality was like.

Dan, as a general rule of thumb pet shop rodents aren't the best. You don't know where they're from, how they were treated, what they were fed and how long they've been frozen.

I can, however, recommend Amazing Amazon in Glen Waverley (I think I'm allowed to mention them because they're a sponsor of this site). I used to get my rodents from them when I lived in Melbourne and was always impressed with the quality. Just call them first to make sure they have what you want. They'll also sell you small quantities if that's all you need.

If you need bulk quantities find a good rodent breeder and you'll always get quality food at fair prices.

 

[abnrmal91]

As has been mentioned, find a quality breeder. Its cheaper plus the quality is normally better.

 

[DazTopEndPythons]

Got sick of buying crap from pet shops and started breeding our own , not something everyone can do though

 

[wokka]

If the rats are branded then the supplier has something to lose. If they are packed in sandwich bags ,possibly with a bit of texta colour then there is little traceback or accountability. Storage facilities are important as bad transport or storage can ruin even the best frozen product.

 

[stimigex]

We used to supply into Melbourne resellers as well as to private keepers now we dont!
The thing with the rodent market is there is that many out there with a handfull of rats/mice that dont have a clue as to their production costs
running out and selling to these markets undercutting price all the time.

Untill the first hot day and their stock dies or the market wants more than they can produce/supply. Then they collapse leaving those that are consistant in supply to have to pick up the void again.
Well now we refuse to supply into these markets and have scaled back production for our own uses (and a few close friends)

To the OP, rodents should not smell offensive when thawed, should not be covered in excrement, bedding or lice.

 

[DazTopEndPythons]

I must say we got a load from wokka earlier this year that were great and got us out of trouble for a good while till our breeders got up and running