If the freezer door were left open for a few hours...
...but all feeders are still cold to the touch despite some bloody discharge in the nose of the rodents and small fuzzy mice being a little soft, are they still good if the door was shut as soon as it was noticed? I don't know how I didn't notice the door didn't shut all the way but all of the feeders are still pretty cold, just now frozen solid. Did I just lose $600+ worth of feeders that were vacuum sealed or in freezer bags or are they still good because they weren't fully thawed? The chicks were wet from the thawing but still very cold, smaller feeders were slightly soft as well as part of the mice and rats but overall, still mostly solid.
Re: If the freezer door were left open for a few hours...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bogertophis
The big difference between meat that we humans eat & feeders for our snakes is that we cook our food & that kills bacteria, whereas our snakes eat raw food.
I wish I could guarantee that your feeders are safe, but I don't think anyone can do that...I think it's LIKELY that they are OK, especially since they were not
deliberately thawed (ie. they remained in their packages and weren't handled) so they had no additional outside exposure, only the bacteria they "came with".
That's a huge loss to toss, and if you took a poll here, I have a feeling that most would try refreezing & feeding them. And I'm basically against re-freezing &
re-offering, but in your case, I think you're right "on the line" & probably OK...again, with no guarantee. Crossing my fingers for you!
BUT- when you go to deliberately thaw & feed these, pay close attention...sniff for "off smells" (discard if they smell funky) & listen if your snakes say "no thanks".
this! Definitely smell when offering but refreeze.
