Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I recently managed to secure some lab rats for my female red tail. They are about 5/6 inches long (without tail) Because frozen and packaged rats aren't available in my area I have to buy them live and then kill and freeze.

Does anybody know how long I can keep them frozen in this state before it is no longer good to feed my Boa? If they keep for up to 6 months for example I will probably buy in bulk.

Thanks in advance.

i had mine for almost a year already. Still using it to feed them too. But we can't keep refreezing them though. 2 the most.

Thx for the advice, jus wondering though where u keep the frozen rats, are they in a normal freezer or 1 of those stand alone types?

Also, do your Boas do ok on F/T, or is some sorta supplement needed?

Thx

I raise my own rats and I feed them very good food. I figure if my rats are healthy, then my snakes will be healthy too. When freezing rats, just make sure to freeze them in FREEZER bags, not just any old plastic type zip lock bag, and push the air out of the bag so they don't get freezer burned.

No supplementation is necessary, and most snakes (esp. boas) do very well on frozen thawed rodents. After 3 months certain vitamins may begin to break down, so try not to keep them for too long before feeding. If you do have some that are 6-12months old, they are still good, but mix in with some fresher kills to avoid any deficencies. This is of course theory, and no long term studies have been done to see to prove this. The lack of studies should not dictate our actions however.

frozen shelf life will double compared to putting them in a freezer bag(which is the next best thing.) I live in Florida and get my rats from Joe Brant @ miceonice.com. He will vacuum seal any mix and match (size) you want-even individual rats (extra $.) I think 50 rats is the minimal order. Good looking, clean rats everytime.

great lookin clean ratts !! i dunno why dmac but i read that and busted out laughing man .. lol it just sounded hillarious ..
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NO BEAUTY LIKE THE BEAUTY OF A TRUE REDTAIL !!

No blown out bellys, dead fleas, and (not that this matters) pure white fur-no brown and whites or spotted fur rats. Clean, good looking rats!

Haha,

ya I gotta admit that is 1 good line. Maybe his ad should read like, "free range corn fed rats, with fur as white as the driven snow, completely GM free..."

but seriously, thx for the advice, I'm gonna buy those rats now. Not looking forward to killing 50 at a time though. Anybody uses 1 of those CO2 chamber thingamajiggies?