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Post by xtsmithx on Jun 1, 2008 2:46:34 GMT -5
Does anyone know if Petco or Petsmart carry frozen mice?
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 1, 2008 8:05:51 GMT -5
Petsmart does, they are called Artic Mice, but lordy lordy you dont want to buy them there! They are EXPENSIVE! We are talking $10.99 for four small adult mice! An online provider is MUCH cheaper. Try rodentpro.com
If you are wanting to buy some frozen mice locally to give to your ferrets (when starting a switch to whole prey) before you go ahead and order a butt load of mice from online, thats a good idea. But to regularly buy frozen mice from there would burn a serious hole in your pocketbook.
Hope this helps!
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tako
Cageless and Roamin' Free
"Future Ferrent"
Is overworked and not paid at all...
Posts: 268
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Post by tako on Jun 1, 2008 14:19:58 GMT -5
If your looking for frozen mice to try I'd check local small/family owned pet stores that carry large snakes first before resigning myself to petsmart or petco prices! Sometimes they buy from places like rodentpro for resale and so their prices are lower. Also, a lot of local pet stores buy larger quantities from places like rodentpro for their own feedings and are willing to sell a few on a trial basis even if they don't normally sell frozen mice. When I was looking to to switch a boa who was going blind on one side over to thawed frozen prey (she kept getting beaten up by rats, and even mice when we tried smaller prey with more frequent feedings ) a local family owned pet store was very helpful in letting us buy a few various critters they'd get regularly for feedings to see what she liked best, before we committed to a larger order from somewhere.
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Post by xtsmithx on Jun 1, 2008 14:59:31 GMT -5
I have a local pet store that I can get them from, but they are closed on Sundays. I'll probably just wait until tomorrow. I don't want to pay $10.99 for a couple of them haha.
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tako
Cageless and Roamin' Free
"Future Ferrent"
Is overworked and not paid at all...
Posts: 268
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Post by tako on Jun 2, 2008 21:55:16 GMT -5
Yeah, as handy and easy to find as the big name stores are, sometimes it really pays to hunt out the smaller/family owned pet stores in your area too.
Better prices, people willing to do special food orders, vet recommendations, connections to people, having somewhere else to go when the only Petsmart in the area is closed because one of the parrots might have had bird flu and you need the right food now because the cat knocked the whole bag off the counter into the toilet...all good reasons for finding the local small pet stores.
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Post by pingford on Jun 12, 2008 17:18:01 GMT -5
Do you folks feed the mice with hair and all? As I'm asking this question, I'm picturing people in their kitchens, frozen mouse in one hand, little bic razer in the other hand.... We're considering a new version of Pingford's Porridge. It'll be called "Pingford's Special Blend" and will be made up of rabbit, mice and beef, possibly turkey, too. I'm just wondering what you folks do for your babies when it comes to feeding mice.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 12, 2008 17:32:33 GMT -5
Do you folks feed the mice with hair and all? As I'm asking this question, I'm picturing people in their kitchens, frozen mouse in one hand, little bic razer in the other hand.... We're considering a new version of Pingford's Porridge. It'll be called "Pingford's Special Blend" and will be made up of rabbit, mice and beef, possibly turkey, too. I'm just wondering what you folks do for your babies when it comes to feeding mice. Yes, hair and all. The fur acts as indigestable fiber. It acutally helps prevent bloackages in the ferret AND helps the ferret from getting hairballs (suprisingly). Another function of the hair is that the ferret's intestinal tract wraps it around indigestable shards of mouse bone, tooth, and claw. See this thread on whole prey poop for a better explaination: holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=prey&action=display&thread=318ALSO fur acts like a natural "toothbrush" and helps to lightly rub and clean ferret teeth! Kibble doesnt actually clean teeth. People think it scraps plaque off but really it wears down and damages teeth. Kibble is WAY too abrasive. Bob church has brought up how kibble can wear away ferret teeth: “Eating hard kibble does three things (and I have dozens of skulls to prove it). First, it wears down the back molars to the roots. Second, it wears down the carnasials to flattened stubs. Third, it forces grain paste (kibble-n-bits) under the gum-line, causing inflamation on the surface of the bone... Polecats and feral ferrets have pretty clean teeth, because the animal tissues (fur, bone, tough skin) polish and clean the teeth...and even Michael Massey, president of Pretty Bird International Inc. (a company that produces ferret kibble says: "The way the ferret’s teeth are anyway, they don’t get any benefit from the scraping when they chew on the food because it cleaves like a diamond, so it splits apart. It doesn’t generally puncture and run up the side of the tooth and clean it. So it’s almost immaterial whether it’s crunchy or wet. The difference on the enamel on the teeth is almost zero. The only thing that keeps teeth clean is ripping through fur and things like that."But basically, fur IS included, and its actually an important part of the diet.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 12, 2008 17:33:34 GMT -5
As I'm asking this question, I'm picturing people in their kitchens, frozen mouse in one hand, little bic razer in the other hand.... OMG! That really made me laugh! . No we dont shave the mice (as explained above) but that would be a funny sight indeed!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 12, 2008 19:03:01 GMT -5
Sounds like a great mix. and while you are at it why not try them (your test crew) on some of the "raw' ingredients
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Post by meli on Jun 15, 2008 23:32:31 GMT -5
Petsmart is no joke! For 10 fuzzies they want 10.99. All their frozen mice are 10.99. I'll be ordering from rodenpro when my guys settle with raw. I'm going to end up giving them mice as whole prey. My freezer is so small I can barely fit anything else in there haha I need to buy a seperate freezer box.
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Post by nwheather on Jun 24, 2008 13:49:44 GMT -5
Do you folks feed the mice with hair and all? As I'm asking this question, I'm picturing people in their kitchens, frozen mouse in one hand, little bic razer in the other hand.... We're considering a new version of Pingford's Porridge. It'll be called "Pingford's Special Blend" and will be made up of rabbit, mice and beef, possibly turkey, too. I'm just wondering what you folks do for your babies when it comes to feeding mice. I watched Julie feed the babies whole mice, it was definitely a learning experience...lol No bic razor needed....hehe I cannot wait to see the new blend! My fuzzies will be glad to test taste it for you!
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Post by Heather on Jun 24, 2008 23:29:01 GMT -5
Has anyone thought of looking out for people who feed snakes? I have a supplier who raises rats and mice to feed her snakes. I get the surplus. It costs me a couple of bucks a rat, instead of 8 or 10 dollars that it would normally cost me if I bought feeders from a petstore. It's just a thought. It means I know exactly what goes into these rats and mice. My guys love her product, and they're not old rats that have been all used up breeders. Just a thought. Ciao
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 25, 2008 9:59:50 GMT -5
That is actually a good idea, Heather! Thanks for mentioning that....Im going to check in and see if their are any snake owners near me that have surplus, home raised feeders.
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Post by bk1226 on Aug 17, 2008 21:26:48 GMT -5
I don't know where anyone else lives but in Ohio there is an All Ohio Reptile Show once a month and they sell frozen prey for very cheap. You can get just a couple animals or a huge case of frozen stuff. I used to have pet reptiles and we would get our feeders from there. I would assume other states have reptile shows too.
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Post by josiesmom on Aug 17, 2008 22:07:57 GMT -5
The other good thing about feeding the fur on mice is that the fur wraps completely around the tiny sharp pieces of claws, teeth, undigested bone and winds this into a smooth rope that is easily passed through their system. It really is marvelous how nature resolves potential problems! The teeth with sharp roots, the pointed claws, the bone shards could easily create problems for the digestive tract but the hair, which is indigestible engulfs these pieces of schrapnel and intertwines them into a neat package to be expelled smoothly through the system!
Cheers, Kim
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