Frozen Shelf life?

[justinO]

What is the shelf life for frozen rats in ziploc bags? after that time, what happens?

just wondering if i should go through the freezer soon :)

cheers,

Justin

[mykee]

Justin, I've heard 6 months if they weren't vacuum-packed, and over a year if they are. I've even heard of people who keep 'em in there for up to two years with (apparently) no side-effects, seems a bit long to me though. One surefire way to tell is to defrost one rat and if it smells like rotting rat carcass garbage, they're bad.

[corr]

I've also heard 6 months in Ziplocs...

[justinO]

hm. thanks mykee..i suppose i should go through the freezer now and feed off a bunch to the sav's.. :).. they'll be happy :)

i'm pretty much interested in what happens to the rodents after the say, 6 months.. what is it that makes them not as suitable?

[Linds]

They can keep longer than 6 months if they are tightly sealed in ziplocs. Basically they just become very freezer burnt if they are left too long in the freezer. It takes much longer than that for them to actually go bad. It is ok to feed mildlt freezer burnt items, but you want to avoid heavily freezer burnt prey. Animals with less fur, such as pinkies and fuzzies, will keep significantly shorter in the freezer due to lack of insulating coat.

[annieb_mice]

If the rodents are in properly vacuum sealed bags with the seal still intact, they can keep for 2 years... some people say they can last 3 years. Once you break the vacuum seal, keep them in a ziplock bag and take out as much air as possible. They should keep in a ziplock freezer bag for about 6 months.
If they are left in the freezer and not properly bagged, then they will start to deteriorate and will get freezer burnt. Some snakes won't touch a rodent that has been freezer burnt because it tastes "off"... much like a steak that has gotten freezer burnt.
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[Toirtis]

In a top-quality zip freezer bag, with all the air squished-out, and in a good deep-freeze (not the sort over your refrigerator...there is a great diffference in temperatures), you can get away with 8-9 months, otherwise 6 month. Vacuum-sealed, nitrogen-flushed rodents in a deep freeze can last upwards of 30 months.

[Artemis]

Toirtis is absolutely right- if you get them in bulk in a single bag from the LPS, then when you put them down in the individual ziplocs, squish the air out before you seal it. This trick works on leftover people food, too, and helps prevent freezer burn!

[jadegrasse]

In a floor type deep freeze at -40 they should almost last forever.