Spots on mice??

[Ruby]

I'm switching over to perfect prey and big cheese rodent factory, but these mice are from hare today gone tomorrow (repackaged Layne labs)

I've never seen spots or rings on rodents? From the 5 I pulled, all of them had these spots.

I'm going to investigate the rest of the bag tomorrow, but I think I'm going to chuck it in the bin.

has anyone else experienced this?
I don't think it's ringworm or mange.

[Ruby]

Here's a couple different angles.

[Armiyana]

Looks like freezer burn to me?
It's not any type of wound that happened while the mice were still alive or before freezing from what I can see....

[Bogertophis]

I agree, that looks like "freezer burn" to me also- it's what happens over time in a freezer from the drying effect of cold air & time. It's mostly a cosmetic issue, IMO- not really a safety or quality problem for snake food, meaning your snake won't care or get sick from it, but it's also not a "good thing" to see on newly-acquired frozen prey, & would make me buy elsewhere in the future. (It also happens with meat that we keep in our freezer for too long- it's lost a little quality but is safe for us to consume as usual- ie. cooked.)

The OP mentioned these feeders were "repackaged from..." which suggests they've just had more time & exposure than is optimal. It's best to avoid those selling "repackaged" prey- as it was discovered in the past when another large rodent supplier had done the same thing- and in order to repackage what they were re-selling, they had to THAW a giant block of rodents, some of which unfortunately thawed too much which allowed some spoilage- not discovered until ultimate recipients of the rodents tried to thaw & feed their snakes- as I recall some snakes got sick or refused to eat, & when thawed, it was obvious to their humans that the rodents had spoiled.

You never want to re-freeze thawed rodents- that is a "quality issue" as well as a food-safety one. You can often tell when rodents were refrozen because they tend to fall apart- also the belly may loose fur & look dark in color- in other words, they're spoiled. That's because these are whole animals, whose entire GI tract is loaded with bacteria that grow prolifically once the temperatures are optimal (ie. when they're thawed); re-freezing does NOT kill the spoilage produced while thawed.

So what I'm saying is, I'd be cautious in this case. While freezer burn won't hurt anything, the knowledge that these are from a source that repackaged them means they're more likely to have spoilage, & in the future I'd buy from another source that doesn't "re-package". These should be SAFE to use IF your nose (once they're thawed) doesn't smell spoilage, they don't appear to be spoiled (beyond the freezer burn spots, as described above) & your snake doesn't object: if your snake eats them they're probably fine, unless we're talking about a species or individual that's willing to eat carrion.

[Ruby]

They didn't smell weird, Just looked kinda funky. Thank you all for your help, I was concerned it was a fungus or something.

[YungRasputin]

is there any lit which talks about the health effects of freezer burned prey consumption when they have not been unthawed but just received freezer burn? like obviously it would be ideal to not have burned prey but am curious now

[Bogertophis]

is there any lit which talks about the health effects of freezer burned prey consumption when they have not been unthawed but just received freezer burn? like obviously it would be ideal to not have burned prey but am curious now

There probably is, though more likely to be about human food, rather than snake food. I can personally vouch for having cooked & consumed meat from my own freezer that had a little freezer burn & I'm "still here", so? Sometimes if the packaging has a little air leak, the freezer burn can happen easily- the meat dries out. It doesn't mean you need to trash the food, but it's also not something you want to see on frozen food you just bought. Certainly not on feeders shipped to you.

And Ruby- if you mention this to the company you got the feeders from, they might just replace the order to keep your business, or offer you a refund, either in full or at least partial. I'd ask- and I think they should be told about it anyway. Unless you've already had them in storage for a while??? (I had the impression you recently got these?)

[Ruby]

Unless you've already had them in storage for a while??? (I had the impression you recently got these?)

These rodents have been in storage for a couple months, The freezer burn was completely my fault.

[Bogertophis]

In that case, I wouldn't worry about it- I'd continue to feed them off as long as you or your snakes don't notice any objectionable odor (or falling apart once thawed).

They're not spoiled- & in the future, you can help prevent this by minimizing the amount of air they're exposed to. Yes it's more work, but once you open a bag, some people use a "seal-a-meal" kitchen appliance to remove the air from the baggies they're in. Depending on how many snakes you're feeding, you might package together only what you typically need per feeding, so you don't have to keep re-exposing all the "mousicles" to more air every time you open the main package. See? Freezer burn itself is mostly "cosmetic" & your snakes won't really care.

[Ruby]

You can often tell when rodents were refrozen because they tend to fall apart- also the belly may loose fur & look dark in color- in other words, they're spoiled. That's because these are whole animals, whose entire GI tract is loaded with bacteria that grow prolifically once the temperatures are optimal (ie. when they're thawed); re-freezing does NOT kill the spoilage produced while thawed.

This was VERY helpful. I didn't realize the dark bellies, and lack of fur meant there was a problem.
Many of the rodents I've bought from Hare Today Gone Tomorrow appear to have spoilage. I only recently found out that they are buying from Layne Labs and rebranding/repackaging them.


Definitely won't be buying from them again.