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Inquiry & Q's : RodentPro

The BoidSmith said:
Justin,

I would like to know if the person who said that knows it for a fact. If that's the truth I will have to switch providers but I don't want to do it before this can be confirmed.

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Justin,

It would be important for if you could confirm this information:

I had the same experience several years ago, I heard that they buy there rodents from various small time breeders etc..If this is true I would say quality control of nutrition and freashness would be very hard to keep track off since you have to rely on the seller's being honest etc...
It's funny how so many big name breeders spend so much on there collections just to cut corners on feeding which basically is the biggest element to good production, healthy breeders and hatchlings etc..
Click to expand...

We need to place another order in the near future and if what you stated is factual and verifiable we might have to try another supplier.

Thanks in advance :)
 
I will also tell you I have never had a quality issue. Ever. The rodents are always top notch, clean, and I don't ever remmeber seeing more than a few pieces of bedding if that in any bag.
 
I've recently switched over to buying my frozen pinky mice from Rodent Pro, and so far have really no substantial complaints at all. Only fairly minor ones, which really wouldn't be of concern to most people. When I buy, I buy LARGE quantities to supplement my own mouse colony, and I find I often have to order less than I normally would because the shipping boxes they use are smaller than my desired order can hold. So once I go over a certain number of bags, the shipping doubles on me for that second box. I really don't need two full boxes worth, so I would wind up paying for empty space being shipped to me. So consequently I just get a smaller order.

I have to admit that the ordering program is pretty slick in that you can tailor your order to fill a box to 100 percent capacity to maximize the efficiency of the order and shipping expense. :thumbsup:

Quality of the pinky mice is as good as any I have gotten from other suppliers, and the sizes have been segregated very well. The zip lock bags are convenient, but vacuum sealed might be better to prevent freezer burn after a month or two in the freezer. So maybe this small problem coupled with the box size issue is actually a GOOD thing in my circumstance.

I was dealing with another supplier prior to Rodent Pro, but after a long stretch of shortages where they would send me small partial orders that were eating me alive with shipping, I had no choice but to switch. Shipping for 1,000 pinky mice was just about the same as for 5,000, so this was not a viable method for me to continue buying what I needed. Rodent Pro has been a supporter of this site for nearly forever, so it was only reasonable and fair that I give them a shot at my business.

All things said and done, I plan on sticking with Rodent Pro for the foreseeable future.......
 
Several years ago while buying a collection in Evansville Indiana..I met some breeders who claimed they sold to Kevin.
Also David Breen and I did a fair amount of consulting with Kevin at Rodent Pro trying to help him out at one point..it was also mentioned in a conversation that he had bought some animals from someone for resale..
Now keep in mind this is many years ago. Also it was mentioned that he maybe buying animals from a research Lab???
Now I don't know if this is true or not but here's an excerpt from there website that seems to back at least some of this stuff up...
I'd ask them directly if any of this is going on!!


At RodentPro.com®, we know that the timely availability of premium quality feeders is essential to the health of your animals. Our state-of-the-art production facilities are dispersed around Evansville, Indiana and the surrounding areas to insure an uninterrupted supply of feeders in the event of virus or weather-related disruptions.
Click to expand...

Now this does raise some question...

Does Rodent pro actually own these facilities???

If not who does??

How is quality controlled by Rodent Pro at these facilities???

also this statement caught my attention...

"in the event of a virus" now this is scary..I really don't need to elaborate on that statement...kinda sums it up itself!!
 
It sounds to me like they may subsitute from a lab the breed large scale for other labs to test on, etc. I think that these labs that breed for labs must keep enough in stock at any given time for every lab customer they have to file their maximum order and have it filled. When The maximum orders don't come through, then they wholesale out the extras. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if most if not all major rodent breeders do this.
 
Private labs always have surplus rats as they can't run short on their supply. Every now and then they have to cull excess offspring as well as retired breeders. As far as quality goes IMO you can't beat that of rodents coming from a well respected lab. They use top notch strains, fed only the best available rodent feed in the market. Besides they are inspected regularly by the USDA, and are very strict as far as which animals can leave their facilities. If I had a choice I would prefer them over any other supplier who breeds their own rodents.

Regards.

Regards,
 
more info...

go to this link..I think you'll find it interesting especially page 4...


http://pub.bna.com/eclr/306cv00081.pdf

One thing I like to point out..when mice are frozen then thawed and refrozen this is the most likely cause of missing parts etc.. as well as the smell..
I also heard that these labs are not supposed to sell to the public..but that may or maynot be true..
Also I wonder who else he buys from and why he advertised FARM RAISED rodents when according to this document he sells lab rodents as well???
 
Justin Mitcham said:
go to this link..I think you'll find it interesting especially page 4...


http://pub.bna.com/eclr/306cv00081.pdf

One thing I like to point out..when mice are frozen then thawed and refrozen this is the most likely cause of missing parts etc.. as well as the smell..
I also heard that these labs are not supposed to sell to the public..but that may or maynot be true..
Also I wonder who else he buys from and why he advertised FARM RAISED rodents when according to this document he sells lab rodents as well???
Click to expand...

Justin,

Interesting. What you say is true, and I know it because of the local veterinary diagnostic laboratory in town. No rodent can leave the building and they are destroyed when not needed anymore even when they have never been used for any diagnostic procedure.

Having said this, "IF" Rodentpro has access to clean surplus lab rodents, and Mice Direct uses independent contractors, I would certainly feel safer with the quality of Rodentpro animals. I can vouch that diagnostic labs use only the very best strains (no pet-shop rats there) and diets. As of how they can have access to them I don't know, but maybe that's the reason behind their surplus sales.

Regards
 
But think about this....
if there buying mice that there not supposed to sell then what stops him from buying mice from anyone, any breeder...who knows how long those rodents sat in someones freezer till they got sold etc...
I think it is safe to say you REALLY don't know who he is getting them from..and if there not supposed to sell the overstock..then what stops the same guy from selling off the ones that been tested on..nothing seems $$$ is the motivation here and I'd be very...very wary..especially since it is obvious that he is willing mislead his customers!!!
Rodents should smell when thawed period!!! Only rotten meat smells when it is thawed!!
 
Justin Mitcham said:
But think about this....
if there buying mice that there not supposed to sell then what stops him from buying mice from anyone, any breeder...who knows how long those rodents sat in someones freezer till they got sold etc...
I think it is safe to say you REALLY don't know who he is getting them from..and if there not supposed to sell the overstock..then what stops the same guy from selling off the ones that been tested on..nothing seems $$$ is the motivation here and I'd be very...very wary..especially since it is obvious that he is willing mislead his customers!!!
Rodents should smell when thawed period!!! Only rotten meat smells when it is thawed!!
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You have a point. But who assures you that the rest don't do the same. If they get rodents at a discounted price, wouldn't they be tempted to purchase them and including with their own stock? Now, I'm not going to speculate on the fact that rodents that come from a diagnostic lab were innoculated and not just surplus.
 
LOL

But who assures you that the rest don't do the same.
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ME that's who..I am at Big Cheese once a week every week and most of what I pick up is live..they pull my orders right out of the bins!
As for speculating..I rather not speculate either...I know what I am getting..as for the other companies I do not..that goes a long way and I'd pay extra for that!!

I have been breeding snake for 13 year now, and in the past I used various different companies who all had similar product..I even visited a couple places..when I started using Big Cheese my production, growth rates etc.. noticably changed for the better..
The freasher food is the more nutritious it is and that is an advantage I have when I pick my stuff up live..but that still goes for frozen. The longer in a cooler the less nutrition it has.
I like the fact that when I get my pinkies, pups fuzzies etc... they all have a full belly of milk..and whats cool is that the pinkies that I pick up frozen still have this..this means there freash and havn't sit in a bin for awhile waiting to be frozen. It doesn't take very long at all for those little guys to absorb that milk...
 
Justin Mitcham said:
ME that's who..I am at Big Cheese once a week every week and most of what I pick up is live..they pull my orders right out of the bins!
As for speculating..I rather not speculate either...I know what I am getting..as for the other companies I do not..that goes a long way and I'd pay extra for that!!

I have been breeding snake for 13 year now, and in the past I used various different companies who all had similar product..I even visited a couple places..when I started using Big Cheese my production, growth rates etc.. noticably changed for the better..
The freasher food is the more nutritious it is and that is an advantage I have when I pick my stuff up live..but that still goes for frozen. The longer in a cooler the less nutrition it has.
I like the fact that when I get my pinkies, pups fuzzies etc... they all have a full belly of milk..and whats cool is that the pinkies that I pick up frozen still have this..this means there freash and havn't sit in a bin for awhile waiting to be frozen. It doesn't take very long at all for those little guys to absorb that milk...
Click to expand...

Your point is valid; the rodents you pick-up from the bins are without a doubt as fresh as they can be. That's the reason why we breed our own rodents and only buy to supplement whenever we run short of. The question that I had was not addressed at those rodents you pick-up yourself. My question was more along the lines of those that were frozen. Can we be absolutely sure that the rodents from every company that are stacked in their freezers come "only" from their breeding facilities? According to the link you posted we know that this is not true for two of them. But what about the rest? Will any company that's out there to be competitive in the market let the opportunity go by of purchasing additional rodents from elsewhere at a discounted price, freeze them, and intermingle them with their production?

Best regards,
 
same can be said for breeders selling subpar snakes...it comes down to how honest and reputable you are...I have yet to see anyone complain about Big Cheeses quality...so we'll save that for another thread if that pops up..right now RP is in question and there's seems now to be more questions than answers...
Occam's razor works well here..
Does Rodent Pro delibertly mislead there customers and buys from whoever suits them for profit
Or
are they honest with everyone about there product and have nothing to hide??

simplest of the two theories.. is probably the most likley answer!!

which one do you think is it?
 
Well, at this time I'd rather not speculate because I don't have enough proof. Just remember what they say "there's always a logical, easy, but wrong answer to every question". :) As you say, time will tell. And BTW, I appreciate you posting that link.

Best regards.
 
Metachrosis said:
This thread can play on for another 10 pages but here in lies the truth.
Chad and Chris run a pretty straight shop at Big Cheese.
Rodent Pro doesn't stand a chance even at twice the sales volume,I'll never use RP or TMF again.
4 Consecutive years with Big Cheese has afforded unequaled "Consistency"
Some people bitch about Big Cheese's size ratio,WTF ? Getting more meat for your money is a bad thing ?
I'll gladly take Med. that rival RP or TMF Large by 20 grams as a plus ANY DAY ! Weanling's that smoke RP's small .....ANY DAY !!!

Better Quality affords larger,healthier prey !! Understanding this and ordering accordingly will prove out BIG CHEESE over the competition time and again.


Tom Sargent
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Is this a joke? I've ordered from all 3 and without a doubt TMF>Big Cheese> Rodent Pro.

Everything from TMF was considerably larger than the identical item at Big Cheese. I was thawing out Big Cheese 'hoppers' that were smaller than TMF fuzzies.

You could not pay me to order anything from RP again. I've got a post on this website with pictures showing the disgustiness that RP sent me. Bags of mice with hundreds of limbs at the bottom covered in bedding chips. The mice/rats all smelled and a huge portion were freezer burned when I got them.

I'll pass on dealing with all of that, even if it costs me an extra $100 per order. I'd rather spend the extra money and get a product that looks better than a lot of things that are sold in meat cases on grocery stores...
 
I had a conversation with a buddy about the broken limb/head situation with RodentPro (which doesn't bother me in the least) and he said that if they are flash freezing (liquid nitrogen), the first couple minutes after the flash freezing they would be extremely brittle. Which would mean any bumping could cause breaking. I looked on RP web site and didn't see anything about flash freezing, but that doesn't mean they don't do it.
 
I have ordered a couple times from RP and have never had any problems. The shipping did take a little while though...
 
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