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Well, today I noticed the rat freezer was out. This is the second time in 12 months! The first time a power outage caused me to empty the freezer, now a breaker tripped a few days ago and I did not notice since the freezer is in the garage. Now for my question...can the snakes be fed the refrozen rats? The rats don't smell good but they don't smell anywhere near as bad as they did the first time it happened. Normally, I would toss them but I just made a purchase from rodent pro and only got one feeding in...this would be over 500 bucks down the drain again if I had to toss them.

Thanks,

W. Smith

They smell? As in decompose smell? If that's the case, no, I wouldn't use them! If they thawed, but were still cold, I think I'd try it!

They have a mild odor to them...its not very strong. they were fully thawed but they don't smell anything like a day old, uneaten rat. A neighbor mentioned they lost power on Thursday night and i guess that's when the ground fault tripped.

I no it sucks but if it were me i would not take the chance with my snakes.

I wouldn't hesitate to toss every single one or find some one with one big azz monitor! Lol. Sounds like you need to splice a power indicator in line with your power cord and place the light some where you will see it morning and night... just an idea.
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Brian Hettinger
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i would not plug it into a gfci it is not needed on a freezer take receptacle out and put a single receptacle in so you canonly plug the freezer in there, it would be to the Nec code.

Thanks for the info. After going through and looking at some of the rats. I know that all of the smaller (pinks, fuzzies and crawlers) bags and the bags on top must be tossed...they started to break apart and bleed. The rats on the bottom look like they are still in good shape. They don't seem to have the odor or blood in the packages that the others do...I'll save these for my rat burners (rescued normal males that eat anything that the others don't). I've placed another order in for some new rats. Thanks for the suggestions. I may have an electrical put in a socket without the ground fault in...I need some outdoor lighting installed anyways...two birds one stone. I have also ordered an power outage alarm to help notify me of any power issues.

I'm not really into the monitors...but why would the other rats be good for them and not for snakes? I have some snakes that I know will eat carrion in the wild do you think these will still be okay to feed them?

Thanks,

W. Smith

Sounds like you need to get the fridge on its own separate fuse/circuit, or maybe a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) A UPS can be a bit expensive but ones that have a short run life can include alarms that can be sent to a computer in the house to notify you, or maybe to a mobile device...Not sure what the newer versions do now...been awhile since I looked into them.

As for using any of the rats..if they all thawed through completely, to the point they are soft when squeezed, I would toss them. Even if they still feel cold, decomposition can occur pretty much in any temp above freeze though at a much slower rate. If they were warm to the touch, then they will be full of bacteria from decomposition. Some snakes may be able to handle carrion...but the gasses produced may cause problems...if not the bacteria itself, during digestion. Remember hearing about some people's snake that became suddenly very bloated to the point they pretty much exploded and died? I figured it was from food no digesting properly...either due to being too old rodents fed to them, or improper temperatures which allowed the meal to rat inside the snake, instead of digesting properly.

$500 is alot of money to have go down the drain, but better that than loosing valuable snakes.
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PHLdyPayne

rats can be thawed and refrozen (even with a hint of smell) with no issues or ill affects as many as two times before they need to be tossed.

the only main issue that could arise is from decomposing. the stomach lining starts to decay and the tissue around this area will become softer thus allowing the stomachs to burst... "sometimes".

if you can handle the smell if there is any, i wouldn't get rid of them and reuse them at least one more thawed time.....after that i would tossed them as they have been thawed out previously for a considerable amount of time.

Pitoon

>>Well, today I noticed the rat freezer was out. This is the second time in 12 months! The first time a power outage caused me to empty the freezer, now a breaker tripped a few days ago and I did not notice since the freezer is in the garage. Now for my question...can the snakes be fed the refrozen rats? The rats don't smell good but they don't smell anywhere near as bad as they did the first time it happened. Normally, I would toss them but I just made a purchase from rodent pro and only got one feeding in...this would be over 500 bucks down the drain again if I had to toss them.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>W. Smith
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Thanks for the reply. I'm gonna try to thaw some of them and see what it's like. When I first started using FT, I tried using a ban of boiling water to speed up the thawing process. Man that was a messy experience...every rat exploded when the snakes hit it. I learned my lesson on thawing...slower is better.

a good method to thaw out safely is to pull them out before you go to bed, in the morning drop them in the tubs....by the evening what ever animal doesn't eat you can toss the rats or refreeze.

again some animals might be picky and want a warm feeder...some don't care, some light to eat only at night, some only in the morning....you have to fit it to your particular situation

good luck!

Pitoon

>>Thanks for the reply. I'm gonna try to thaw some of them and see what it's like. When I first started using FT, I tried using a ban of boiling water to speed up the thawing process. Man that was a messy experience...every rat exploded when the snakes hit it. I learned my lesson on thawing...slower is better.
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yeah, you don't want to use boiling water...you end up cooking the outside of the rat before the inside is fully thawed. Warm tap water works better, not so warm it can burn your skin, but warm enough (100F or less) you can feel it as being warm on your hand. This will thaw fairly fast but not cook the rat, especially with pinkies. Just replace the water every ten or so minutes, as the frozen rodents will chill it fast initially.
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PHLdyPayne