A few weeks ago

[Siretsap]

I was arguing with someone a few days ago about frozen and canned nutriments.
Well we both were wrong.
And I remembered I read somewhere frozen wasn't keeping the nutrition in the meat or veggies.
Anyways I just wanted to mention where I read this.
It was in the Reptile Medicine and Surgery by Mader on page 329.
I quote:
"An other dietary cause of neurologi symptoms is vitamin B complex deficiencies. This may be seen in carnivorous that are fed large amounts of frozen fish or herbivorous lizards fed large amounts of frozen vegetables. Freezing decreases vitamon levels and increases thiaminase activity, resulting in thiamine (B1) deficiency."

For all those who say their reptiles are having seizures, you might want to read up on page 329 of this book, most of the time it's sign of mbd.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you guys know I wasn't all that crazy.

[marisa]

Isn't this the exact same reason some people recommend adding yeast to iguana's food if you are feeding frozen (then thawed) salads on a regular basis?

Coudl be wrong though.

Marisa

[reptile boi]

So ur saying that frozen rodents with have more thiamine and probably give a snake mbd?




Thanks,
Ben

[Siretsap]

I am not sure for the yeast thing.
But No I am not saying feeding frozen mice to your snake will give him mbd. I suppose the rat or mouse would have to be kept in the freezer for a long period, but it's always good to give a fresh killed rat or mouse once in a while.

[ChristinaM]

Originally posted by marisa
Isn't this the exact same reason some people recommend adding yeast to iguana's food if you are feeding frozen (then thawed) salads on a regular basis?

Coudl be wrong though.

Marisa

Close one.
MK advocates adding Vit B1 to your frozen salads.
( I'm not advocating everything she says, but I agree on this one).

Freezing does indeed decrease some vitamin levels.

I don't know for sure on frozen rats/mice. The above is strictly for vegetable matter :)

[Lisa]

It depends on how they're frozen, some frozen veggies are cooked before freezing, where your rodents are not. cooking automaticly destroys vitamins. also slow freezing veggies takes out some of the vitamins where flash frozen veggies are fine

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Frozen food still is slower at decoposing and nutrient loss than fresh foods are.

For instance, if you buy fresh greens for your herps, it is best to use them within a couple days. If not using them within a couple days, they should be portioned out and thawed when needed. Frozen meat is not as good as fresh either, but when it comes to herps we have out opinions on that as well. Your rodents should not be froze for more than 6 months (at the very longest). I try to use any frozen rodents I ever use a.s.a.p. Folks I know that buy frozen in bulk buy enough for a 2-3 month supply. This allows them to use food that is "fresher."

No matter how you cut it, once a life form is "put out" it will start to go bad. The optimum use is as fresh as you can, but frozen will help maintain the freshness the best if no other option is available. I strictly use fresh greens myself (personally I do not see why folks would buy frozen when fresh is available), which means more trips to the store, but also better quality feeding. Same goes for feeding snakes. I usually dispatch prey moments before feeding them off. Sometimes I place them into the freezer, which is rotated by date (New in-Old out) to ensure I use my rodents the best I can.