Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Because our local pet shop is not a reliable source for pinkies lately, I'm seriously looking into buying some frozen ones. Unfortunately, the minimum order is 50, and with only 4 hatchling colubrids to feed, I want to make sure the pinkies will not go bad before they have a chance to eat them up. What is the shelf life of frozen pinkie mice (and frozen rat pups, for that matter--I'll get some of those for the corn snake at the same time...)?

In an earlier post, folks said vacuum sealed rats keep longer, but does that mean I'll have to borrow a vacuum sealer and re-package everything into feeding-sized quantities to keep the rest from going bad faster?

I've got a chest freezer that maintains around 0 degrees.

Thanks!

i've been told (by sellers of frozen feeders) that vacuum sealed feeders will last 2 years at 0 degrees,also if properly resealed they can last 4-6 months.if your feeding 16 pinks a month the opened pack of 50 should be ok IF resealed properly.when buying frozen feeders the usual shipping is $24-30,so ordering more cuts cost per feeder.if you can split that charge with someone it really helps,buying at shows is probaly the best option.

small pinkies will be good for 3 to 4 months if resealed properly with the excess air pushed out. As mentioned above, always keep at 0 F or below.

Kelly

You should be able to go through the 50 pack within a safe time frame with 4 corns. What you may want to do when you first open the bag is separate them into 4s so that you're not re-exposing the entire pack of pinkies to air every time you open the bag. If you don't have a vaccuum sealer, double-bag them in Ziploc freezer bags.
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chickabowwow

Thanks for all the reassurance, folks. I think I'll go ahead and order them today. It will certainly be more reliable, and much cheaper, even with the shipping cost!

Thanks again.
Annie