Can you re freeze defrosted rats?

[Hannahrenee]

I just got home from buying frozen rats. The place I got them from was an hour away so, after I bought them I filled the bag they came in with ice. They sat in the ice the whole ride home and my car was cold. But when I got home they were soft and able to bend. They were still freezing cold in the ice though and werent defrosting for long. But they are no longer frozen hard.
Can I put them in the freezer and still use them, or are they bad now since they did defrost some?

[C.Marie]

No just like meat consumed by people it will have bacteria growth

[SDA]

You run the risk of ice tearing apart the cells of the rats. Technically you can refreeze them but the main issue is if you defrost them and they are damaged they are going to turn into mush when you heat them.

I doubt you will run into risks of disease, just mushy rats. In the future you can get a cheap styrofoam or other cooler and fill it with refreeze-able ice packs to keep it insulated.

[Hannahrenee]

Can mushy rats still be eaten? What's the risks of a mushy rat? The rats themselves were still very cold, just not completely frozen anymore. I just don't want to throw out $50 worth of rats. I will if I have to of course. But if there's anyway to save them, I would prefer that. I put them straight into the freezer when I got home and they are back to frozen now.

[Momokahn]

If they were completely thawed but on ice, yes you can refreeze them. Quite possibly they will be mushy when you thaw them. It can become a mess when you thaw and feed them but it will pose no harm to your snake. If they were still partially frozen and you are currently getting them back to a hardened state by freezing them I doubt they will be mushy. Next time wrap them up with several layers of newspaper and place them in a cooler just big enough to hold them with no ice. They will make the 1 hour trip home and still be hard as a brick.

[dr del]

Hi,

I think they might still be ok but the only way to be sure is to try a couple. If when warm they smell putrid then it's a no and if they burst when fed to the snake I would also say no. There is likely to be some decomposition even if they were still cold when you got home but the extent is really hard for someone to judge over the internet.

[Aedryan Methyus]

I will only thaw and re-freeze once then I throw them out. I let them thaw to room temperature then heat them up with a heat gun at feeding time. I've never had any problems. I highly doubt if yours even completely thawed out, so they should definitely be fine...