Does freezing feeders reduce parasite risks???

[Batdad]

Don’t know if this has been covered before or not, if so please just point me towards the appropriate post.

What I am wondering is does freezing feeders for a specific period of time (and how long would that time be) help deal with the possible problem with the feeders having lice/mites.

I haven’t seen any signs of these problems but, I am having problems with a wild rat being around my breeders. Haven’t had luck catching the stupid (well actually quite smart I guess:rolleyes: ) thing yet.

Thanks for any help,
Bruce

[Stockwell]

Yes, freeze them till they're solid and you'll be fine... in regard to killing many parasites, but rodoent mites and fleas are specific to warm blooded hosts..They won't harm your herps.
I've personally had rodent mites(yeah on me) and it ain't " a good thing" It takes months for those bites to heal up. It's pretty rough on mice too. gets them all itchy and scabby and their ears get all bloody.... thus your yield will go way down.
I had to destroy an entire colony a couple years back.

[Lrptls]

i thought they had to be frozen for 14 days to kill off all parasites...

[WALTER]

48 hrs would be fine. Once they are solid that kills everything.

[Cruciform]

The following is a quote from page 42 of Understanding Reptile Parasites, by Roger J. Klingenberg, D.V.M.


Most parasites are destroyed by freezing fo a period of time. Remember that many life stages of the parasite passed into the environment, such as eggs, oocysts, and larvae, are somewhat fragile and cannot survive for long periods. Fish, frogs, mice, rats, birds, lizards, etc. can all be frozen prior to feeding. How long do they need to be frozen? Good question, as little research has been done on this. Frye (1991) recommends that snakes fed to other snake, thus representing a potential direct source of parasites, should be frozen for 30 days. Freezing food three to four days is enough to eliminate flukes, but not protozoa. As a rule of thumb, freezing for at least 30 days should eliminate most parasites.


This refers to freezing feeder snakes in particular, but it's a good guideline if you want to be extra careful :)

[Batdad]

Thanks everyone

[annieb_mice]

Thanks for information!!! I was sort of curious about this as well!!
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[reptile boi]

hmmm, i read somewhere on this site before that youd have to freeze them for 30 days to be on the safe side.





Thanks,
Ben