snake species are confirmed carrion feeders in the wild. I've seen pythons and boas eat rats that have been at room temperature for well over 24 hours and have seen young anacondas feed on birds that had been at room temp for 48 hours. A good friend of mine said he has watched neonate alterna feed on pinks that had been thawed for 3 days and were solid black. When a large python eats a 50 pound antelope, the body of that prey animal has gone many days at 80 to 90 degrees before digestion activity reaches the interior of that carcass. That would be some highly decomposed tissue before the digestive fluids even reach it. I'm not necessarily recommending their use, but if those rats are in fair condition, there shouldn't be any issues.

The best way to check frozen feeders is the slip test. After it is completely thawed, pinch a good mass of hair on the belly of the feeder animal between two fingers and give a pull on it. If the hair comes out and slips off of the belly skin easily, then decomposition has started. Also, the larger mass of the rat bodies would mean that they were the last things to thaw.

Kelly

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