Some parasites will survive freezing. Most of us purchasing food over the net take comfort in thinking that frozen prey can't have parasites- that is what we are told at any rate. That is only partially true. Frozen prey purchased from feeder breeders probably has no parasites to begin with and freezing does kill a majority of the parasites that might be found in a breeding colony of feeder animals. The wild prey that might be taken by traps or roadkill could be infected by parasites that do not die in freezing temperatures, hence when thawed you will have a parasite-ridden prey animal to offer your reptile.
Your question is valid and complicated and until recently I was unsure of the impact myself. On one ocassion I fed a wild rabbit to a retic for no other reason than not to waste something that my cat killed. I was under the impression that freezing them for several weeks would kill off any parasites it could have. When my cat brought home a second rabbit a breeder that has been in the business longer than most of us have had snakes told me a well-respected vet had said otherwise. After a short research on the internet I found that there are several parasites that survive freezing temperatures- so freezing the host is of no use. I know a few people that feed roadkill to their snakes and the snakes seem very healthy. Personally- and it is a personal decision- the small risk is too much for me. My snakes are my family. You could raise an animal on frozen roadkill her entire lifetime and might never encounter a problem or you could offer that one parasite that could affect her or kill her. Parasites are the source for all sorts of problems in reptiles- many of the symptoms mimic other problems. With so little known about reptile medicine and so very few truly competent reptile vets accessible to the majority of snake keepers- the risk is too great imo.
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Marcia Pimentel
Tango River Reptiles
GiantFeeders

[ Hide Replies ]

• Feeding Burms Wild Prey - RobertPreston, Fri Jun 27 09:22:09 2003
• RE: Feeding Burms Wild Prey - meximullet02, Fri Jun 27 11:09:18 2003
• RE: Feeding Burms Wild Prey - JDP, Fri Jun 27 11:36:40 2003
• RE: Feeding Burms Wild Prey - RobertPreston, Fri Jun 27 13:34:05 2003
• RE: Feeding Burms Wild Prey - JDP, Fri Jun 27 15:29:16 2003
• Dude you Have issues - Rottenweiler9, Fri Jun 27 11:43:08 2003
• RE: Dude you Have issues - RobertPreston, Fri Jun 27 13:17:56 2003
• Ooops! - RobertPreston, Fri Jun 27 13:22:51 2003
• Here are MY thoughts on this,..... Sorry, very long post..... - BrianSmith, Fri Jun 27 15:12:57 2003
• Many thanks . . . - RobertPreston, Fri Jun 27 21:37:24 2003
• In a word, "No," Here's Why.... - tango, Fri Jun 27 16:39:08 2003
• Ok... my actual experience... - meretseger, Fri Jun 27 17:56:37 2003
• Lots of opinionated people w/out any evidence.... - Carmichael, Fri Jun 27 18:56:17 2003
• I am on a mission now - Rottenweiler9, Fri Jun 27 21:24:47 2003
• RE: I am on a mission now - ball_boi, Sat Jun 28 19:14:03 2003
• Thats true - Rottenweiler9, Sat Jun 28 21:42:05 2003
• RE: Thats true - ball_boi, Sun Jun 29 15:36:55 2003
• RE: Lots of opinionated people w/out any evidence.... - pinatamonkey, Sat Jun 28 01:32:24 2003
• RE: Lots of opinionated people w/out any evidence.... - JDP, Mon Jun 30 10:53:32 2003
• Ah the idiots come from all angles!... - Carmichael, Mon Jun 30 19:12:53 2003
• And all levels of experience apparently... - JDP, Thu Jul 3 20:35:41 2003
• It's not a snake, but... - Ryan Shackleton, Sun Jun 29 00:07:14 2003