How long can you freeze rodents for?

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Lunar_Psycho

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Just curious as to wether or not rodents lose their nutritional value after being frozen for a long period of time. I know you should freeze them for at least two weeks before using them as snake food, but I have never heard of them having an expirery date :D . I`m thinking about freezing a dozen or so extras in case I ever have a problem with my breeding mice and rat stock.

Cheers, Jay
 
don't think they ever go off as long as they stay frozen and don't defrost... but the freezing incase of the fodder running out is a good idea
 
David they should stay frozen at least 2 month before feeding to kill worms and eggs. Period of freezing depends on temperature. My vet said to me that 6 month is the time you should think to feed them out if they are kept in normal freezing temperiture about -3 c. I am having my frozen rodents in speciall freezer set just for that purpose on maximum and keeping them sometimes for 1 year. But my freezer is set to maximum and it is box freezer not used for any other purpose. I am oppening it just once a week and boy they are rock hard all the time.
I newer herd of any problems with food been frozen for period long under 12 months, that is what I am doing. Hope that help.
 
Sorry I can`t find "rat" on your list lutzd :lol: . Thanks for the help everyone. Ive got an old fridge in the garage that has a small freezer situated on top. When I get back to oz Ill try and up the temperature and keep them for a few extra months. I guess if Ive still got some left after about 6-12 months I can always just replace them :twisted: . At the moment I have about 20+ breeding female mice and 6-9 breeding female rats, with only one jungle that takes a weaner rat or two a week. lol. Ill put a few extra away just in case, but I generally have a good supply of rodents available (I end up selling all the mice and 50% of the rats to pet shops anyway).

Cheers, Jay
 
Oops, mis-read your post Slatey. I guess I`ll start keeping them for over a year then. lol
 
This is one of those topic's that you will get lots of different answers for.

I can't say I have ever heard of having to freeze rodents for two months, or anytime at all to get rid of parasites, especially when you think that if you are breeding the rodents, then you are normally feeding them fresh, albeit they may not be alive, so you can't destroy parasites, not that they should have any!
I know what your thinking, what if i have bought the rodents from someone else and am not sure of wether they are carrying anything, well all I can say is that if you aren't breeding them and are buying from someone else, try to stick to that one breeder, for quality control, and so if probs occur, you know where they came from for sure.
Saying that, I have never had a problem with internal parasites in rodents and used to buy my rodents freshly killed and I would freeze for upto a month before feeding, but often less.

Personally,I would say that between 5-6 months is a good time to keep something in a freezer before feeding, also be careful when freezing pinkies, as they can get stuck together easily and are hard to break apart, also they can get freezer burn easily, making them messy once defrosted, best to store in a tupperware container of some sort.

Also another thing to note is defrosting, always defrost at low temps, I would say room temps, but room temps vary greatly especially this time of the year.
The reason for this is that I have had friends that have defrosted mice in a warm room, and the mice have been zapped of all there bodily fluids, and so it is like feeding cardboard to your snakes, this leads to problems when the animal is trying to digest it, and can prove fatal if alot of dehydrated rodents have been fed to an individual reptile.

Neil
 
Neil,
what about defrosting in warm water.. is that ok.?
 
FOOD STORAGE
Storing food for reptiles can be a very simple process, but there are some factors that effect the storage method involved. Live food items, such as rodents should always be purchased live or freshly killed and then frozen. It is important that they be frozen shortly after killing them. Many sources currently offer frozen rodents through mail order. The problem with purchasing rodents from these sources is that in most cases it is difficult to determine how long the rodents have been frozen for. The method of freezing food items is fine, but the vitamins and minerals will begin to breakdown after about 3 weeks. By purchasing and freezing fresh food items yourself you are able to know just how long the food has been frozen for. Freezing is a good way to store food items and as an added benefit the process of freezing will kill most parasites that the prey item may be harboring, both internal and external.
 
My rodents have never had a problem with parasites as far as I can tell, though ive never given them anything to prevent it. I keep a close eye on their health and they are generally well looked after as if they were pets. The only mice and rats Ive ever had die on me were from a cannibalistic mother mouse (she fell about a metre onto her head as a fuzzy, and I think she ran out of milk, she only killed two before I managed to get them adopted by another tank of mice) and a female rat (two males were fighting and the female got slashed up in the process).

Jay
 
Brodie,
Yes, Defrosting in warm water is fine, in fact I should have mentioned that one, I usually do it for pinks and they are then already warm for the fussy feeders, just not really hot(ie.Boiling water !)
The only other thing about defrosting in water is that some snakes don't like wet mice, so defrost and dry with kitchen towel, the only thing is that if your snake likes a strong smelling food item, alot is lost by this method.

Neil
 
ahhh phew thanks for clearing that up hehe, was worried for a second there..also I was lookn after a carpet and was really fussy and would only take completely dry mice so i just used a hair dryer worked a treat :D
 
I always defrost in hot water, and feed rats at around 6 months frozen sometimes up to 9 but any older than that and I fry em up for the missus! Don't liker to feed any older than 9 months to my snakes. Always freeze for two months at least before use and never feed fresh kill. Love your idea for the fussy ones Brodie.... Coifeured rats indeed :)
 
hot water works wonders for me and choppa is the opisite he wont eat the lil bugers unless its a lil wet i just defrost it, shake it, then its dinner time 8)
 
David they should stay frozen at least 2 month before feeding to kill worms and eggs. Period of freezing depends on temperature.

What about animals like rabbits and guinea pigs?
 
Talking of Guinea Pigs where can I get a supply of these (Craig do you have any plans in this area)
 
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