Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I go to petsmart regularly to volunteer at the adoption center, and I thought it would be great that they're now going to be selling frozen mice, since I'm working on getting a Kingsnake soon. Still, from experience I know that Petsmart is often less than adequate in their knowledge, animals, supplies, staff...you name it... So what do you guys think of their new product? Good purchase, or bad idea?

I have used their mice and had no problems, except the price. Price from Pet Smart, including tax comes out to 1.79 per mouse. By ordering frozen, my price, including shipping, is only .33 cents per mouse. They are great for an emergency though, and the product is good, just not worth the price to be my regular supplier.
-----
Jenea

1:1 Tricolor Hognose
0:0:2 Florida Redbelly Snakes
0:1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle
1:1 Red-eared Slider
0:0:1 Green Tree Frog
1:2:2 Mediterranean Geckos
2:0 Cats
1:1 Kids
1:0 Spouse

I didn't think much about the price I guess, hehheh. Looks like I've got a little more looking online before I get my kingsnake. Thanks for the info though
-----
No reptiles....yet
------------------
0.3 Cats ='.'=
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
1.0.3 Tropical Fish

When evaluating the overall cost of frozen rodents ordered online as compared with Petsmart you must consider the cost of shipping. Shipping costs are very expensive because of overnight delivery and the weight of the dry ice used to keep the shipment frozen. It may not be cheaper ordering mice online for a single snake or even a small collection, depending on how much freezer space you have and for what time frame you are able to stock up. Some people team up and place joint orders to share the cost of S&H.
-----
Randy Hallman

My online price was for an order of 200 fuzzies. my price for 100 would have come out to .63, so quanity does make a big difference.
-----
Jenea

1:1 Tricolor Hognose
0:0:2 Florida Redbelly Snakes
0:1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle
1:1 Red-eared Slider
0:0:1 Green Tree Frog
1:2:2 Mediterranean Geckos
2:0 Cats
1:1 Kids
1:0 Spouse

By your numbers it was $3.00 cheaper (total price) to get 200 than it would have been to get 100!!

200 x 0.33 = $66.00

100 x 0.63 = $63.00
-----
Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)
2.7 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (adult breeders)
2.5 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2004)
4.8 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2005)
2.1 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Hypo (possible super)
1.0 BCI albino het stripe
1.0 BCI salmon hypo
0.1 BCI ghost

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Your mathmatics and your wording do not match up. It was only $3.00 cheaper to order 100 vs. 200. Your wording seems to have reversed that. My point was that the difference in shipping 200 vs 100 was only $3.00. When you are talking roughly $50 shipping cost, it pays to max out your box if possible.
-----
Jenea

1:1 Tricolor Hognose
0:0:2 Florida Redbelly Snakes
0:1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle
1:1 Red-eared Slider
0:0:1 Green Tree Frog
1:2:2 Mediterranean Geckos
2:0 Cats
1:1 Kids
1:0 Spouse

The point still is correct that shipping is a major portion of the cost and it really pays to max out your package to minimize your per unit net cost.
-----
Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)
2.7 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (adult breeders)
2.5 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2004)
4.8 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2005)
2.1 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI Albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Salmon (possible super)
1.0 BCI Albino het stripe
1.0 BCI Salmon
0.1 BCI Ghost
0.1 BCI Super salmon, possible jungle
1.0 BCI Salmon, possible jungle

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I've used the little hopper mice from Petsmart, and I think that they are a pretty good product. If you are getting a small kingsnake, they might be fine for your snake's entire life. They are a little small for my California Kingsnake, but I sometimes give him one as an appetizer.

People talk about the economy of ordering online, and I agree that you can get them cheaper per mouse when you do so. On the other hand, if you have only one snake and feed only once a week, roughly $2 per mouse still only adds to $100 per year. If you're making your purchase at Petsmart, you can buy these mice in a pack of six every six weeks. If you order online, you'll be getting probably 100 at a time. If they are vacuum sealed in packages of ten or twenty, they'll be fresh for a while. They may even stay fresh for two years. If they are all in one package that won't be vacuum sealed after you've opened it to get the first mouse, they will lose freshness in the two years that you'll need to use all 100 of them. If you know someone else who keeps snakes and who can split an order with you, ordering online could be worthwhile. If you are just feeding one snake and aren't ordering with someone else, you might find it easier to get your mice from Petsmart or some other place that sells them in small quantities.

Bill
-----
It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Check with your local Herp Society. Here in Phoenix, we have a gentleman that distributes for Big Cheese Rodents. I call him up two days before the meeting and he shows up with all the mice my snakes can (and will) eat. Since I switched to bulk mice, I figure I'm saving at least $100 a month! Granted, for one snake it might not be a big deal to spend $8.00 a month to feed it. You should still look around locally, though. You will find good deals and some really cool stuff. That's how I found this nice free Splendida and the mice to feed it with!

-----
Diego & Tiffany's Zoo
SNAKES
4.4 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Mid Baja & Baja)
0.1.0 Pueblan Milksnake
1.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Solomon Island Boa
1.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.0.1 Chinese Red-Bellied Water Snake
0.0.1 Desert Phase Kingsnake
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
0.0.3 Leopard Geckos
1.1.0 Yello Niger Uromastyx

That's true, I would only have one snake, so ordering online might not save me much money. There's another store nearby that might have them as well, their's probably won't be any cheaper but I trust them a lot too. Thanks for all of the different opinions and tips though, this forum has been such a help to me and I imagine the Herp Society you suggested might be too if I can find out where they are close to me
-----
No reptiles....yet
------------------
0.3 Cats ='.'=
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
1.0.3 Tropical Fish

Just a side note that sometimes buying from a local mom and pop pet store is more beneficial than buying from a chain store. Around here we have two big chain stores (Petsmart and PetCo) and a few local stores. I tend to buy almost anything I need at one of the locally owned pet stores because I build up a friendship with the people that work there and it supports local business. Those friendships with the local stores allow you to get deals on things that a chain store would never allow. The chain stores have one set price and maybe something is on sale, but maybe not. At my local store if I really want a snake and it's $200 but I don't want to spend more than $175, sometimes the price magically drops to $175 for me. That just doesn't happen in a chain store. So yes, I might spend $4 more on some supply, but I more than make up for it on another purchase by knowing the people at the pet store. Anyway, just my thoughts and if anyone is ever up in Burlington, VT, let me know and I'll give you directions to a great locally owned pet store that really specializes in reptiles, arachnids, as well as fresh and saltwater aquariums.
-----
1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Pythons
1.2 Leopard Geckos (Albino, Severe Reduced Pattern, Carrot tail)
1.1 Pugs (Male-Fawn, Female-Black)
Various Fish

That's a good point too. I never thought of using the local stores to get discounts, I usually like to go there though because they're always really friendly and knowledgable. I do like to support them too, I'd hate to turn around one day and see them closed, but a lot of times it comes down to Petsmart just being more convienient
-----
No reptiles....yet
------------------
0.3 Cats ='.'=
0.0.1 African Dwarf Frog
1.0.3 Tropical Fish