Is 12 hours too long?

I took a few mice out of the freezer at 6am today and put them in the fridge to thaw. Will they be ok to feed them to my snakes tonite or have they been out too long?

They'll be totally fine. Just be sure to warm them up before offering them.

Ok so what's the longest they can dethaw for before they are bad?

I don't have any scientific studies to go by...but I would guess you could leave them in the fridge for a couple days (at least) and they'd still be fine. Some people leave them out on the counter to thaw at room temperature overnight or for a whole day, even.

Snakes (even ball pythons) will eat carrion in the wild. They don't have the same intolerance for bacterial growth that humans have. So long as the prey item isn't visibly decomposing, I wouldn't have a problem feeding it.

Thank you, this info helps. I always worry about leaving them out for the time i do[4 hrs] and them going bad and having my snakes eat bad mice. Now this clears my head!! Thanks again!!

yea on feeding day i usally do the same, but maybe i leave them out for about 6-8 hours...they usally soften up in that amount of time then i hit the up with a hair drier for a few jst to get a good heat out put.

i feed my pixie frog mice and just put the mouse in warm water, wait like 15 - 20mins. you guys are crazy patient.....

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Originally Posted by LacertaMan

i feed my pixie frog mice and just put the mouse in warm water, wait like 15 - 20mins. you guys are crazy patient.....

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LoL.... We're actually impatient. I throw mine out on the counter in the morning before I leave for work. When I come home, they're ready to feed with a quick hair dryer blast to heat the head. Quick and easier then heating water and waiting 15 minutes - for me anyhow... :D

i used to use to hot water trick too but i jst didnt like feeding a soaken wet mouse to my boy, trial and error:oops:

if the mouse is warm from the water it eliminates the need to use a hair dryer, although i like that. but im sure your boy or my boy (or girl) doesnt mind eatin a nice wet clean mouse. a little hydration doesnt hurt anything. besides its nice havin roommates who hate mice and they see one floatin in some water. always good.

Im realy bad, I half fill the tub with HOT water, then put all of the rats and mice in tupperware with paper towels, dont want wet rats, and let them thaw for 30 mins then I fill the sink and submerge the containers for 15 mins. everyone is hot and ready to eat by then. Good thing water is cheap here.:)

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Originally Posted by LacertaMan

if the mouse is warm from the water it eliminates the need to use a hair dryer, although i like that. but im sure your boy or my boy (or girl) doesnt mind eatin a nice wet clean mouse. a little hydration doesnt hurt anything. besides its nice havin roommates who hate mice and they see one floatin in some water. always good.

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Yeah, I've had to feed mine wet mice on several occasions- I just wrap the rodent in a paper towel for a few seconds so it's not dripping, and my normal takes it fine.