How long to freeze?

Ok, so you should freeze rats/mice in order to kill off parasites etc. But, how long is necessary?

Give or take 30 days, depending on the parasite load they're carrying. That gives long enough to kill off nearly anything. Even a day or two is better than not freezing at all, though, in terms of parasite load.

Oh. ok, well I guess I'll start dating my bags of rats in the freezer then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shelby

Oh. ok, well I guess I'll start dating my bags of rats in the freezer then.

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Thats actually a very good idea :). I even date my bags I've ordered from RodentPro.

Yeah. I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

I freeze mine for a few weeks.

It's a real good idea to date your bags. A frozen rat is only good for like 6 mos.

I know that for sushi/sashimi, it's required to freeze the fish for 48 hours at -15 Celsius. Now, at higher temperatures I really have no idea how long or how effective freezing is; I do know it will not kill all parasites however, so do not be lead into a false sense of security that just because you freeze your rodents that they are safe. Having a good rodent supplier is very important, and freezing is no substitute.

Freezing rats is not an effective method of killing internal parasites. Becky actually covered this in the "My theory" thread very eloquently. She is taking a parasitology class and the words are from the mouth of her professor (a DVM).

Now I'm sure it would kill external parasites, but if your rodents come with snake mites, don't freeze them, find a new rodent supplier.

-adam

Well I raise my own rats. Haven't seen a mite anywhere.

ooh sushi.. *drool*

Ahem.

Sorry.