Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I went to go and feed my snakes this week, opened my freezer (12cu ft), and it smelled "odd". Looking at dozens of bags, I can see that there are now pools of frozen blood in some bags, and a bunch of frozen mice/rats stuck together. They seem to be frozen at this point, but I have no idea how long they were defrosting for.

Have I lost the entire freezer? Or are these still ok to heat and feed to my boas?

Anyone have any tips to stop this from happening in the future? I would estimate there is at least $1000 worth of rats in there.

I think you should be fine. I have feeders that are thawed completely and even warmed in hot water that I refreeze and then reuse next feeding. I only reuse them one time if they are not eaten. It may not be an approved method but, Ive had no issues doing it.

It really depends on how long your freezer wasn't working. If they were thawed for less than a few hours, the rodents may still be okay. If there's any chance your freezer wasn't working for more than a day, I wouldn't risk it. If you keep $1000 dollars worth of feeders, I'm guessing your collection of snakes is worth far more than that.

If you're keeping that many feeders, it may be worthwhile to check each day to make sure the freezer is running properly.

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com