Can frozen mice go off??

[Lizzy001]

how long can you keep mice frozen for???


sorry if it seems a stupid question...

[eyespy]

A year if vacuum-packed, if not I prefer to use them within a month to avoid freezer burn.

[Burmies]

Just think, if you put a steak in the freezer, how long would you leave it there before you will not eat it anymore.

Burmies

[PaulBar]

I buy live pinkies and freeze them, that way I ensure very fresh frozen pinkies for my snakes.
Most of the frozen stuff in pet stores can be quite old and stale.

[eyespy]

I buy direct from rodent suppliers who vacuum-seal their rodents. I also make sure they are humanely killed so they are not loaded with stress hormones, and that they have been fed a nutritious diet. You never know what pet store mice have been fed or how they have been killed.

[Linds]

It all depends on packaging, vacum slead items can last well over a year. while items loosely wrapped in paper or whatnot may only last a few months. Pinkies and fuzzies don';t last as long as items with fur, becasue they are more prone to freezer burn. It's ok to feed mildy frostbitten items, but its best to avoid anything that has a moderate amount.

Originally posted by PaulBar

Most of the frozen stuff in pet stores can be quite old and stale.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I know that the store I work at, we are often out by the end of each week, and we aren't even in an area that has a big herp scene... some like to say we are out in the boonies If we sell out so quickly, I can only imagine how fast the stores in larger cities go though feeders...

[Edwin]

I usually buy a 3 month supply and stock up around each PCPC reptile expo. I usually only buy small to large rats, and I agree with Linds, pinkies and fuzzies will 'dry out' or get freezerburn much faster, say in about a month or so.

I think the stuff at the pet stores move really quickly, as the places I visit are always out of stock on rats.

[marylyn101]

Longest i go is only a month and a half. but i do my own

[jadegrasse]

If you put them in a small freezer zip lock bags filled with water, almost forever. Freezer burn is caused by sublimation (frozen liquid turning to gas). I gas my rodents, soak them for a short period of time in water them zip lock bag and freeze them in large sealed Tupperware containers. They never get freezer burn and last for years.

[Lisa]

What I find annoying is on the adult rats their claws and teeth cut through the bags.