Ohiorats.com Rod Surber RatmanRod
 

Just a heads up for those of you who live in Cincinnati or the area and looking at buying rodents from ohiorats.com or Rod Surber... His rats have mites and at times are heavily infested. They are also fed nothing but day old or older bread and supposedly eggs as their food. These are not healthy rodents to be feeding your herps. I have bought from him at least twice in desperation when my supplier didn't have enough of a size and they have had mites every time and they were underweight for their size. Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up. It's risky. He is a really nice fella but his rodents are unhealthy in my opinion.


Luanne S. Smith
___________________________________________
Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?....E.A. Poe

Luanne,
You make this statement yet say you have purchased from him at least twice? Even after knowing what he feds them, you still felt ok to feed them to your snakes? The way this thread sounds, it seems like you have either had a falling out with him or he upset you in some way.

Actually, not at all. The first time I bought from him, I didn't know what he fed them and didn't realize they had the mites because I had called him and told him I was on my way and I wanted them gassed. So when I picked them up, hewas putting them in bags. When I thawed them tofed, I noticed the mites and threw all of them away. I did not feed them. BTW, I am still pretty new to some of this. The second time, I was so desperate and took another chance. No one in my area had ANY rats and since my husband had been ill, my snakes really needed to eat. So I went and bought some more, this time live. I was in a hurry and just grabbed some. That's when I found out what he fed them cause I went in and saw all the old bread in their cages and asked him. He said he goes and gets it by the vanful. When I got home, I called a friend of mine and it turned out he was going to Columbus and I asked him to pick some up from the show, which I oredered over the phone and he brought them back to me. I checked the live ones I had and they also had mites along with 5 gerbils I bought. So we gassed them and threw them away again. There was no falling out at all. I took a chance and was hoping the first time was because they were all gassed or something and the second time was the last time. The friend of mine that brought my rats from Columbus had told me the same thing had happened to some of his friends and local stores.

The only reason I posted this was because I noticed that he started putting ads here as he hadn't before and people need to know. I did NOT feed any of those ras to my snakes. They went in the trash. In this area, for some reason, it can be difficult to located rats, especially larger ones. I have since gone frozen and I think my husband is happier about that since we don't have to care for the ones that are left over. Anyway, that's what happened for anyone that lives in the area.

If what you are saying is true, that is pretty sad that he is feeding them old bread. Rodent mites are different from Reptile mites but I wouldn't want either one near my collection. The freezing will kill them but it sounds like the rodents are probably not being raised in the best of environments & getting good care to begin with.

Hi,
Yes it is true that is whathe feeds them. He has said he gets a whole van load of old bread from the Butternut outlet and that's what he feeds them. Not to mention, the cages are so dirty as well. They are filled with old shavings and crap. It's sad cause he really is a nice person buthe just doesn't take very good care of his rodents. That's why I just wanted to let people know. Of course, thye can go and base what they see on their own. That's their choice but I know I will never feed them or recommend them to anyone. Like I said, just a heads up.

Luanne S. Smith
__________________________________________
Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?...E.A.Poe

Ratman
 

I know he does not actually breed the rodents he sells. He picks them up on Mondays and delivers them to people and several Northern Kentucky pet shops on Tuesday and Wednesday. What does he feed them while he has them? I don't know. What does the actual breeder feed them? I don't know. I have only bought from him once and did not notice the mites. The animals did not seem starved or malnurished, since there was babies in the same box with them and were not being eaten. If they were malnurished I don't think these pinks and fuzzies would have made it home with me in that box. He did seem like a really nice guy, and I think I will try him again. Just my personal experience.

Hey Rick,
Have you been to his house and the barn where he has the rats at all? He DOES breed the rats he sells and he does supply some of the local shops with his rats. That I DO know for sure and I have been to his place twice. It's up to you. I saw the conditions, smelled the smells as did my husband. You can feed whatever you like and it's a risk you take. All I did was offer a heads up. So all I say is just be careful and inspect and make sure. I do agree that he is a nice guy but his rats need something to be desired.

Rats
 

Have you ever been to any other large rodent breeders house? Everyone I've seen had "smells".

bull crap
 

Loran i have sold to reputable stores and others for many years with no problems.The last time you called you lied and said you were coming out and never even called to say you weren't.I should sue you for slander.I don't raise much here at all but just store for a couple days tops. i have two other farms you never been to.My guys feed Kent rodent food and organic corn .I have bread here at the house for my chickens and pigs .Don't worry about buying from me fruit cake cause you're never welcome at my farm ever again. Furthermore if you froze the rats that i gassed special for you then that would have killed everything .Thanks for being a backstabber and casting doubt on me.If any of you want references from any of the top breeders i sell to in Ohio ill pass their number to you . Ratmanrod@hotmail.com

YOU CANT RAISE AS MANY AS I DO AND SELL AS MANY AS I SELL FEEDING CRAP.And if my buyers snakes was getting mites id been out of business ten years ago..

Sounds like you are admitting that there were mites. :NoNo:

As for those "top breeders" you sell to, you may want to have them come here and verify your story versus you passing anyone's number to anyone.

rats
 

I'm just not going to sell to the public .Cant put a price on aggravation .Im good .

rat
 

you are very smart to see threw her bull crap.I think she must be board.

your just a stick string a bucket of turds sounds like to me.lol

They are all words in English but .... :shrug01:

Since you posted Rod and opened the door, then I feel the need to respond. Number one, I offered a heads up to information that I had from my own experience and from what you had told my husband and me while we were at your place. It doesn't matter if mites get killed being frozen because the rats are exposed to disease and anemia brought on by mites which I would NOT consider to be healthy rats. Not to mention the live gerbils we bought that also had mites. Number 2...We SAW your supposed area where these rats are there for the so called few days tops, you say they were, and they were in dirty bedding, bread and crap over 3 inches deep etc. Oh and Mr. Bilby, yes I have been to other rat breeders but they had clean bedding and the smell was minimal. There were also mommas feeding babies, pinkies etc... If you have another place you keep them, could you not provide a cleaner more sanitary area at your place in which these mommas and babies could live? Also, you had told my husband and me that you struck a deal with the bread dealer and I asked what you fed your rats and that's when you told me about her,the bread you feed and the occasional eggs from your chickens. My husband was there. Number 3...I never called you any names since this is an ADULT board where people can speak freely about their experiences. Those experiences were by my husband and me. It was offered only as a heads up to our own dealings and the quality of your product. People are always free to make their own decisions and rate the quality according to their standards.

So, I made my statements based on my experience, what I saw, what I received, what I ended up having to throw away and it was also observed by my husband who is NOT a snake person, but understands animals in many ways. This was not accusatory, nor was there any name calling such as fruit cake, on the contrary, I actually said you were a nice fellow but your rats were not up to a high quality. Either way, I stated what needed to be stated and am not going to get into a pissing contest like on a child's playground. It's a heads up... Thanks!

I got nothing to hide .MY ADDRESS IS ON MY WEB SITE.I know those girbls sucked i got those from a store that was closing after there roof caved in.They gave me all those with tanks you came out a few days after i got them.I had know idea they had mites.Barn all cleaned problems solved .Girbls gone. .I wish you just told me not broadcast it all over the internet.Look up www.ohiorats.com AND THIS this stupid THREAD COMES UP.Or Rod Surber It is what it is . I am not raising rats any more and just pull out of a very nice clean barn that raise for me as i dont have the time to do it all.You did lie to me and said you was coming out and never called other wise.. So toot your horn bla bla bla

Rod Surber Ohio Rats!
Just wanted to change a bad guy thread to a good guy thread. Just went back to Rod's and got about 80-100+ live rats and mice. All of the rats/mice were very clean, no mites at all and very healthy! My snakes just adored them! LOL He's a very outgoing friendly guy and extremely reasonable even after the disagreement over past purchases and a bad guy BOI thread. I will continue to purchase my rats and mice from him and any other reptile food from him. (He now has mealworms, waxworms, superworms!) If anyone in the southwestern Ohio/Indiana/Kentucky needs prey, Rod's your guy!

Serpent Ridge Exotics and Rescue
"Where reptiles are family, not possessions!"
__________________
Luanne S. Smith
____________________________________________
Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream? ....E.A. Poe

Aren't these last two posts from the same guy this thread is about, or am I missing something? :shrug01:

Please, correct me if I am wrong... :confused:

The second is a quote from the OP, though with no info about where that was posted.

Or he doesn't realize that his info is right next to the post...:rofl:

Maybe there are two Rod Surber's in West Harrison, Indiana who are both into rats ?:shrug01:

I think he didn't realize his info. was listed to the left of his post :shootfoot

Oh, ok. Thanks for clearing that up lol. But still, something doesnt chime right here. But thats just my opinion. Considering this matter doesn't really affect me too much since I am nowhere near Ohio :o

There is just something about someone who has to toot their own horn that doesn't sit well with me. Though he does provide some insight. :notallthe