I'm not sure how you feel about this, but I've had to buy live mice (or in your case, rats) and kill them for my ball python when he was recovering from an illness and being extremely picky. It's awful, but if you do it correctly it is painless and quick, and would provide your snake with food while you're waiting for a more reliable source to come along. I owned two rats at the same time that I had to do this, so I know how terrible it seems, but if he's being that picky you may have to resort to something if you can't find a good source of food relatively quickly. Thankfully snakes can go a while without eating, and I wish you luck on finding your frozen rat supply. <3

would it be possible for him to eat pinkies? Often petstores, more likely big chains (yes, I read your whole entry but bear with me) end up with "takebacks" which end up being pregnant (this does include species they don't carry...I remember the Petco back home having shittons of rabbits when they didn't even sell them in the first place). You do need to directly ask the manager though, the associates are rarely helpful, about "adopting" a female close to term and freezing the pinkies may be an option, perhaps letting the others reach the fuzzy stage before killing them (obviously not by freezing at that point)

I've afraid I can offer no other useful help other than I hope there's someone here in your area who can split costs or an order with you


that is insane though, around here we have TONS of suppliers for rats (way to many actually....I wonder if it would be possible to ship you some from here if it would save on costs....I can look into that too, I have friends with snakes up here). That is unbelievable though...a shortage of rats O_o

Oct. 31
Morgantown, WV
West Virginia Reptile Expo, VFW Post 9916, 340 Holland Ave.

Not sure how far you are from Morgantown hun...but there is a reptile show there next weekend and at most shows you can buy frozen rodents fairly cheap...no shipping and in smaller quantities. Also look for local reptile clubs in major cities, members can provide or help locate local stock for you!

I would imagine shipping would cost a lot for frozen things! Especially since you don't want them showing up at your door all warm and juicy.
Good luck! Frozen rats are pretty expensive here.. $12 for one.

considering that they must be shipped express, insulated and a lot of the weight is the necessary dry ice block
you're right, the feeder industry does only make sense if you buy in bulk and also maintain a deep freezer
i've never seen fuzzy rats in vac pacs of less than 25, thats what fits the smallest tray i've seen for about $15 (local pick up only) here in central FL
(if you do ever move back down here, there are always plenty of frozen suppliers about)

but anyway, dealing with the present...
considering what you have already crossed off the list, all that comes to mind is:
do you have a birds of prey sanctuary anywhere near or a natural science museum exhibiting reptiles?
i have both of these near me, they may even sell to you at cost if they raise their own feeders since it's not their business
or if not, at least get you in contact with their local suppliers, (so many of these guys just don't make themselves known through proper channels)

i don' t know if your objection to f/k is to do with the higher microbe/disease factor over frozen (this would be my issue) or if you have some other hang up about witnessing a violent means of killing
but rigging a humane rodent gas chamber is not altogether difficult and you probably have alot of the materials around from keeping your other critters
you could always use it on several at a time, freeze them for later use and make them safer to ingest
the actual dry ice is cheap, its the shipping of something that heavy that makes it costly and since it's used in so many industrial applications it should be easier to get locally than the pre-packed frozen rodents themselves

Hmmm... you have a few options.

1. You could start your own feeder colony, kill your own rats.

2. You could start buying live rats, then stunning them before giving them to your snake.

3. I could check on a corn snake web site I frequent to see if anyone can help. Or you can, the link is http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/

Anyway, I hope your problem gets solved!

Why won't he eat mice? He just doesn't like them? I don't have anything helpful, I'm just curious.