Frozen Rodent Shipment Came 1/2 Thawed!

Quick question. I placed my 2nd frozen rat order with a company that I really love. Unfortunately, the box arrived at my place at close to 5pm (must have been near the end of the route today) and it's at least 90 degrees out. I pulled the box in ASAP since I'd been waiting for it all day and noticed that the dry ice bag was empty and rats seemed to be 1/2 thawed.

I threw them in my chest freezer immediately, but I can't help but wondering if I should be worried about re-freezing them at this point... Can anyone confirm or deny whether re-freezing 1/2 thawed rodent might cause a problem and be un-safe to feed to my Ball Pythons? I know they eat much worse in the wild, but I wouldn't take the chance if there was cause to worry...

I appreciate any feedback!

I don't think it's a problem. I've heard that you can re freeze a rodent once but after that it could get iffy. That's all the knowledge that I have to give.


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Should be fine. You can re-freeze them. I just wouldn't do it over and over. One time is fine.

Let me try to define "1/2 thawed" in case it might help (It might have seemed worse that it actually is.) I pulled one of them out to thaw fully for feeding tonight. The fir is fully thawed and the rate gives the slightest bit when I apply pressure, but the core is still frozen frozen...

depending on how defrosted they were would depend on if i kept them or just threw them out.

Maybe call the company? A lot of times (at least the company I get my rats and mice from) will send a new shipment if they aren't frozen when they arrive. It couldn't hurt to call and ask. If they will replace the rats, it would help your peace of mind.

If the rodents were thawed, call the company immediately. The fur shouldn't really feel 'frozen' even if the rat itself is frozen.

If they are thawed, I would not want to refreeze and rethaw for my snakes. I wouldn't thaw and refreeze chicken for me to eat, so I wouldn't want to do that for my snakes.

I know at least one company will make it right if you contact them immediately. I don't know which company you used though.

Once is ok twice not as nice


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I would definitely try contacting the company and see if they will replace the rodents. I would be a little iffy since it was so hot out. Were they still cold to the touch when you took them out?

I just wonder about the shipper at this point. The box was clearly marked frozen wasn't it? I would really hope they'd want to move that right a long.


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I would have thought that too. The box definitely has "Keep Frozen" on it. Not getting around to delivering it until 5pm on a day like this is a bit crazy... I think I'll schedule my rodent purchases for the spring/fall to avoid heat like this in the future. Might make the difference.

I'm going to contact the company tonight and see what their take is on it. So far I've really like dealing with them and the quality of the rodents is amazing.

I'm sure they'll work with you on it. It's really the shippers fault in my opinion, but maybe they will take the responsibility even though they may not be at fault.

Like the saying goes, the worst they can say is no. ;)


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Company contacted me today. They reassured me that there shouldn't be a problem re-freezing after giving them a description of the problem. They did say that they would replace the entire order if I was unhappy at all. I love good customer service. Especially when I you pay a little more for better quality rodents.

I'm going to use the rats and just monitor for any kind of issue, smells, etc... Would hate to take advantage if there really is no danger.

Thanks for all the replies! Contacting them was the best option.

If the cores were frozen, I wouldn't worry about re-freezing the rats. That's great that the company offered to replace them though!

Heck some snakes like them refrozen (which I've been told by other herp people is fine). The gamey smell of refrozen rats sometimes helps picky eaters.

Well! Maybe this will help with a couple of my incredibly picky girls. Will post results if so. heh

BTW. Since this turned into a positive instead of a negative post. I'll let you know that Layne Labs is the company I've been dealing with. Higher prices, but lower shipping costs... The guy I talked to promised they'd be putting in more Dry Ice when the temps are this high. The quality of the rodents is the best I've seen from online vendors.

Correct me if im wrong. Not trying to be ignorant. But isnt the reason we dont like to refreeze food for our consumption simply about taste? I know the taste is greatly affected due to the desteuction of the cells from refreezing but isnt the nutritional value still there?

I believe the real danger lies in bacteria taking advantage of less-than-frozen conditions to get a foothold. Once that happens, the safety of the item is questionable and generally not worth the risk. That's why restaurants are required to keep any food sitting out at/above a given temperate to prevent bacteria from having ideal conditions. Also why it's recommended to throw away any kind of leftovers if they've been sitting out for an extended period of time.

Bacteria likes to grow between 40*F and 140*F (give or take a few, its been years since I worked fast food). The problem with thawed meat isn't the taste, its the bacteria. That same idea gives us ptomaine and salmonella poisoning. If its thawed and not eaten right away, it gives harmful bacteria a chance to grow.

Edit: I should answer the question lol. I believe refreezing food may kill off some but not all the bacteria, so when its rethawed the bacteria begins to thrive again. I could be wrong but pretty sure that's close.

I'm sure even once-frozen rodents are chok full of bacteria by the time we end up feeding them to our snakes. And live rats are hardly sanitary lol. Any raw meat has a lot of bacteria, but snakes can handle it much better than we can. Of course it's a good to be mindful about it, but aiming to kill all or even most of the bacteria in a raw rat is just silly. It's not something I worry very much about at least.

And btw, I order from Layne Labs too! They are excellent.