First though, remember that your rodents are captive bred and not wild caught. The same goes for prey as for pets; parasitism ranges much more in nature then in captivity.

Are your snappers wild caught? Are they healthy? How long have you had them captive? If wild caught, they probably already have a parasite load. If "long-term captives" and healthy, then this is a sustainable load and not of much concern. Optimal husbandry will allow your snappers to fend off any overload of parasites.

Most worms that are of concern will be killed by freezing temperatures. It is important to use a "deep freeze" that will drop temperatures into the -20's celcius instead of your refridgerator that usually only cools to slightly below the freeze point (-4C). The length of time is debateable, and it is likely that every species of parasite will never be killed to 100% certainty. Several weeks should be very sufficient.

The "three month" rule is a length of time that the nutritional value of frozen food begins to deteriorate. Food older than 6 months is still of value, but has a significant decline in nutrients.

Unfortunately I do not have any written references, as I'm recalling this info. from school and continueing education seminars. If you'd really like something hard to look at I could do a search on it...

Ian

[ Hide Replies ]

• How long to freeze wild caught prey items to kill parasites? - dqreps, Thu Aug 25 17:50:49 2005
• RE: How long to freeze wild caught prey items to kill parasites? - tattoojimmy, Sat Aug 27 10:46:00 2005
• RE: How long to freeze wild caught prey items to kill parasites? - tattoojimmy, Sat Aug 27 10:49:42 2005
• You brought up some interesting discussion - joeysgreen, Sat Aug 27 11:42:57 2005
• RE: You brought up some interesting discussion - dqreps, Mon Aug 29 18:59:16 2005
• RE: You brought up some interesting discussion - joeysgreen, Wed Aug 31 07:41:48 2005
• RE: You brought up some interesting discussion - dqreps, Fri Sep 2 12:08:44 2005