New venture-Mice/Rat breeder Cape Town

[Warren Klein]

dobby7, your knowledge of captive reptile husbandry obviously leaves much to be desired when you make such comparisons between the diets of wild snakes and that of snakes in captivity. Don’t worry I am not going to waste my time any further in an attempt to educate you on the subject either. I couldn’t care less if you respect me as a person or not however uncalled for that statement of yours was. You have the right to feel however you may, just as well as I have the right to state my opinion whether you “need” it or not!

I hope this thread will serve as a warning to potential buyers of feeder rodents as there are clearly very different standards out there. You can never be quite sure of what went into the food we feed our valued reptiles when you purchase your feeder rodents from unknown sources.

[Blake]

Hi all.

[Blake]

Ok I am pretty new to this forum and I have a major love and passion for my reptiles, they are my pride and joy and unless they are thriving I'm not happy.

I joined this forum to learn more and be educated on what I can improve on.

In all honesty in the short time I have been a member I am getting out off the forum all together from all the politics and judging one another, such as that's been happening on this thread, I'm sure we all share a great love for reptiles else we wouldn't be here in the first place. Why fight with one another and send cheap comments about one another when we can all learn something from everyone?

Just my honest opinion.

[Blake]

Meant put off not out off. My bad.

[Lillypod]

I agree with Blake...

[Reptile Deli]

@ It_Bit_Me- Is there a specific chicken feed? I know there is a few different ones they cell at the Agri mark.

[it_bit_me]

@ It_Bit_Me- Is there a specific chicken feed? I know there is a few different ones they cell at the Agri mark.

I don't know. I have been given one option.
The pellets are more dence than rodent pellets and they are not left as dust on the bottom so they are full of good stuff.

[dobby7]

My first comment was not aimed at anyone but I feel that herphabitats comment was aimed at me in a negative way and I strongly dislike it when people insult others without provocation. For the sake of the forum that I myself have learned so much from, I take full responsibility for my comments and I apologise to the other members on this forum for speaking in such a manner. I have no intention of fighting with anyone and so I am going to drop this now.

[Durban Keeper]

Hi Reptile Deli. If you can supply rodents at a price near your advertised range then you can put me down as a client. That is if your happy to ship. I will take 100 pinks 60 mice, 12 small and 6 large rats a month.

Thanks.
Dean

[Kuro]

I have also heard of people mixing snake vitamins with food they feed there rats,mice etc.(basically snake food) Just to give the snakes that extra little something.

[Bushviper]

I know dog pellets are not ideal for rodents and chicken pellets are used by some breeders which is not ideal. I have also seen breeders use primarily dried old bread. Their production was always terrible and the rodent quality dodgy.

Pig pellets sound reasonable because I am assuming that the pellets will contain enough nutrients for an omnivore and sow pellets are not intended to put fat on the animal nor will it have growth or fat stimulating ingredients. If it is good enough for the pigs that make my lovely pork chops I am pretty sure it will be fine for rodents for my snakes.

I do believe you will have to increase your prices especially if you plan on delivering the orders. All the big breeders deliver free of charge within a certain radius. Obviously the order needs to justify the delivery. These costs are included so that you dont have people pitching up 10 times a day to collect a few animals as a time. This robs you of time which is money !!! Friday deliveries are good so that people who have ordered live pinks can feed them on a Friday night when they have more time.

Look into getting tanks of carbon dioxide gas to kill the animals and then freeze them for certain customers. Buy a few really freezers so that you can keep excess stock in there of various sizes and not wait until all are adult before knocking them off and freezing them. Freeze each dead animal individually so that people can see it was killed and not frozen when it died of some unknown reason.

Get a vet to come past and give you a clean bill of health every few months. That goes a long way towards your credibility as well.

Good luck with your venture.

[Tarka]

This is more like it! Thanks Arno for an informative and helpful post! After all...that is why most noobs (like myself) visit SA Reptiles.

[Reptile Deli]

Hello Everyone. Took a bit longer than expected due to our twins that arrived and extra two rooms that we now have to add to our house but finally got my first rack almost done. The rack holds 70 tubs and is big enough to hold 2:1 rats and 5:1 mice. I am planning on adding another 3 of these tubs in the near future. Each rack will have an automatic water system and have food hoppers that will have enough space to hold food for 7 days.
Thank you to all those who has shown interest to buy from me. I will keep you up to date.

[Jamster]

There is nothing wrong with supplementing your rodents feed with other feeds. For example a friend of mine was trying to get his mice going and theyjust werent producing on a diet of mixed seeds and grains. They would grow and get fat but not breed. He introduced a few high quality dog pellets in to their diet in the evenings only, with a decrease in the rodent feed at night as well and within 3 weeks every single cage had at least two litters of pinks. I know this because I fed them and gave them water twice a day myself. The mice are also less fatty and look healthier. Remember all dog foods have different ratios of grains and proteins etc. Foods that contain a meaty portion to them with an incease in protein are not a good idea for rats as they cause an increase in aggression and cannabalism of the pinks.( personal observation)

[Blet]

Ito interest, I'm in