Frozen feeder mice preservation

[Ourobouros]

Soooooooo this is an odd question perhaps by the all too paranoid me.. But I shall present it anyways...

Since the smell of dead mouse isn't pleasant by default how can you tell when it's starting to go bad, of course if it's extremely bad it's obvious but if it's "almost" at that point how do you guys determine this. I don't have an issue with this I'm just curious and would like valuable input so as to be able to gage freshness more accurately. Mail order is risky for me if the package ends up abandoned at my door step in 115° heat...

[Hurrok]

To be honest my frozen rats don't have much of a smell even when they are thawed. But when they have gone "bad" it is very obvious and it smells like rotting meat haha. Not sure if mice are the same but I would imagine it would be similar.

[Mikoh4792]

Soooooooo this is an odd question perhaps by the all too paranoid me.. But I shall present it anyways...

Since the smell of dead mouse isn't pleasant by default how can you tell when it's starting to go bad, of course if it's extremely bad it's obvious but if it's "almost" at that point how do you guys determine this. I don't have an issue with this I'm just curious and would like valuable input so as to be able to gage freshness more accurately. Mail order is risky for me if the package ends up abandoned at my door step in 115° heat...

Don't they usually come with dry ice? Even in the summer time they should be fine if they come insulated with dry ice inside.

[Ourobouros]

Yeah it did. The ice was melted though by the time it got to me. Granted, the bag of mice was still cool to touch...

The mice themselves don't really smell like they're rotting. I think it was the blood in the original bag to be honest.

[Mikoh4792]

Yeah it did. The ice was melted though by the time it got to me

How long was it at the door? I would say they are fine as long as you put them in the freezer as soon as you got them.

[Ourobouros]

I'm this way about my own food though lol. I don't think one can be too careful when it comes to meat.. But is it normal for mice to be shipped all bathed in blood lol?

[smy_749]

I'm this way about my own food though lol. I don't think one can be too careful when it comes to meat.. But is it normal for mice to be shipped all bathed in blood lol?

no its not. because normally they are still frozen.

[Ourobouros]

How long was it at the door? I would say they are fine as long as you put them in the freezer as soon as you got them.

Yeah right into the freezer. But later I had to partially thaw them to separate them into individual baggies as fast as I could and back into the freezer they went

Edit: 5 min in the shade. The lady in the leasing office got em inside for me since I was stuck at work. Fed ex ignored my instructions to NOT leave the box outside. Go figure

[infernalis]

This all seems odd, every single time I have ever ordered mice, the box could be left in a desert for two days before anything would start to go bad.

3 layers of insulation and a large block of dru ice ensures that.

who did you order from???

and don't worry about the mice rotting, if they were still cold, then they are fine.

Heck, most reptiles can eat nasty road kill, so a mouse that thawed out for a moment and then was re-frozen is not going to be any problem.

[Ourobouros]

This all seems odd, every single time I have ever ordered mice, the box could be left in a desert for two days before anything would start to go bad.

3 layers of insulation and a large block of dru ice ensures that.

who did you order from???

and don't worry about the mice rotting, if they were still cold, then they are fine.

Heck, most reptiles can eat nasty road kill, so a mouse that thawed out for a moment and then was re-frozen is not going to be any problem.

Thanks I feel a little better about it

I ordered from bhbreptiles.com
Perhaps I should try a different seller though as bhb seems better to buy snakes from rather than the food...

Pet stores are just too expensive to buy from directly

[Mikoh4792]

Thanks I feel a little better about it

I ordered from bhbreptiles.com
Perhaps I should try a different seller though as bhb seems better to buy snakes from rather than the food...

Pet stores are just too expensive to buy from directly

Rodent pro baby!

[Ourobouros]

Rodent pro baby!

Well it's worth a try. =3

Thanks everyone