vacuum sealing..

lucky8926 · 12-21-04, 12:02 AM

Someone in another post a while back about vacuum sealing f/t prey and it seemed like a pretty good idea. I picked up one tonight at wal-mart (vacuum sealer). I sealed each f/t rat in its own little package, now when i'm ready to feed I just thaw it out, cut the bag open warm it up a little and feed. Hopefully this will keep them from getting freezer burn.
Just an idea for those of you feeding f/t.

Asian Jon · 12-21-04, 12:09 AM

Sounds good to me, how much do they go for?

lucky8926 · 12-21-04, 12:20 AM

I paid $38 USD for it at wal-mart. I figure it's worth the money it might save me in the long run to avoid freezer burn.

Bartman · 12-21-04, 12:49 AM

I think I have a vacumm sealer. Ill have to get a picture of it and maybe someone can show me how to use it. Its been in the cool room for like 2 years

lucky8926 · 12-21-04, 12:57 AM

The one that I got is pretty simple. You cut the bag the size you want (the bag is one large roll of plastic sealed on the sides) seal one end, put in what you want then put the open end in the sealer it sucks all the air out and seals the end by melting the plastic.

Matt_K · 12-21-04, 08:59 AM

Not sure why this was posted in the Ball Python forum, so I moved it to a more apropriate forum.

blazinreps · 12-21-04, 09:36 AM

hey yea we use a vacumm sealer at work (butcher shop) and it keeps meat alot longer then normal and aslo makes it so u dont get freezer burn. i never knew they sold small ones cuz ours is a big indutrial one.

annieb_mice · 12-22-04, 01:49 AM

Vacuum sealers are awesome and are DEFINATELY worth the money if you get large amounts of feeders! I would suggest putting 2 or 3 weeks worth of food in one bag so you save a bit on the bags, or they could get expensive.
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

Stockwell · 12-22-04, 10:54 PM

I just bought a good vacuum sealer as my wife didn't want rodent stink and guts in her kitchen unit. They aren't cheap and range from 100 bucks up over $200 cdn. The "food saver" brand line made by Tilia are excellent machines but the bags and the cost of these machines makes them uneconomical unless you are freezing hundreds and need to preserve supplies for a year or more. Getting one with the instant seal feature allows for shorter suction times which helps prevent damage to soft foods(rodents included) Without this function you need to prefreeze before vacuuming otherwise vacuuming tends to suck the fluids out of the rodents and pulls them all together making them very difficult to separate when you need only one.
I generally only package up lots of 50 to 100 for long term reserves(up to a few years)
Anything that is going to be used in a 6 month period, is more economically frozen in ziplock bags with the air forced out.
I have both the VAC 1050(discontinued) and now the new VAC1200 both good machines
http://www.foodsaver.com/products.ad2

Lioness · 01-17-05, 12:05 PM

hey as for the vacs..i usually fed my corn live pinkies cus pinkies..but as he gets bigger i wanna get him used to f/t..well i went out and bought a bag of 50 f/t pinkies in an air tight bag.. well now im wondering..when i open the bag to get out a pinky how will i re-close it??