refreezing prey items

correct me if i'm wrong here please... once a prey item is thawed you do not refreeze it. it looses it nutritive value and is no longer healthy.

any other reasons other than that?

I have the same question. I'm not sure if its ok but i have done it a few times.

I certainly do NOT do it. Having said that, I do not think it would hurt if for some reason your snake was not interested in the food and it was refrozen within 5 minutes or so of heating. Once the food becomes room temperature you could run into problems of bacteria and so forth setting in. I most certainly do NOT recommend refreezing an item more than once. If it would not take a second time.

I've refrozen a prey item a time or two. Usually I just throw it out because it's sat out over night. I never refreeze more than once, and be warned that refreezing mice can cause exploding insides. :bleh: Very nasty.

exploding mice... YUCK!!!

well since you have to leave a prey item for a period of time... it would be thawed and beginning to grow bacteria etc on it... so i can't imagine that re-freezing would be good to do.

everything i've read says don't do it... i'm actually very surprised to hear people do it. (not judging just surprised)

I have a question regarding this......how long after a live mouse dies is it still considered "fresh" enough to freeze and offer again as a f/t??? Reason I'm askin' is that I have a few guys that will somtimes (not often) kill a mouse and not eat it.......when I peek in on em', I see they've killed it, and think -ok, cool, gettin ready to swallow; check again, mouse still there....-ok, some just need a little more time....when three hours go by, and he starts roaming the cage like he wants explore instead, I usually just toss it, thinking its bad.......well, I got to thinkin', that's a lot of mice yearly that I've wasted!!!! Why do they do that??!!!!

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

everything i've read says don't do it... i'm actually very surprised to hear people do it. (not judging just surprised)

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Like I said I would NEVER and have NEVER done it and would not recommend. There is just too much risk and not enough reward.

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

I have a question regarding this......how long after a live mouse dies is it still considered "fresh" enough to freeze and offer again as a f/t??? Reason I'm askin' is that I have a few guys that will somtimes (not often) kill a mouse and not eat it.......when I peek in on em', I see they've killed it, and think -ok, cool, gettin ready to swallow; check again, mouse still there....-ok, some just need a little more time....when three hours go by, and he starts roaming the cage like he wants explore instead, I usually just toss it, thinking its bad.......well, I got to thinkin', that's a lot of mice yearly that I've wasted!!!! Why do they do that??!!!!

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After 3 hours of sitting there and the snake is not interested, just toss it and get a fresh one later.

I will refreeze once if I have to. Anymore than that and you are asking for an exploding rodent. Not cool!

If I plan on refreezing it, I do it within ten minutes of thawing it and offering it. Either they're going to eat or not. ;)

If I fed f/t, I don't think that I would re-freeze it, I'd just toss it. I don't re-freeze meat that we eat (uncooked) - from worry about bacteria, so I don't think I'd do it for my snakes either.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

If I fed f/t, I don't think that I would re-freeze it, I'd just toss it. I don't re-freeze meat that we eat (uncooked) - from worry about bacteria, so I don't think I'd do it for my snakes either.

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I wouldn't think bacteria would be a huge concern. Snakes in the wild are known to eat carrion. I could be wrong (I normally am) :)

I read somewhere once a long time ago that snakes are opportunistic feeders and will occasionally eat something that's long dead. I don't know about refreezing, I've never tried it myself and yes i've wasted many mice over the years, but I wouldn't think bacteria would be an issue. If I know that I have a snake that likes to miss a meal and waste a mouse then I just offer food less often for that snake. They don't have to eat weekly so I will usually offer food every other week or every third week for the wasters. That way I waste less mice over the course of a year. Also, I have so many snakes that I feed the wasters first then give leftovers to the ones I know are pigs.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

I could be wrong (I normally am) :)

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That makes two of us! ;)

I thought I had read somewhere here or maybe in one of my books that frozen rodents break down the rodent at the cellular level, which makes the prey easier to digest. Refreezing would continue to do that - perhaps that's why they explode.

You are correct!!

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Originally Posted by jglass38

You are correct!!

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I'm stunned...

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Originally Posted by cassandra

I'm stunned...

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That you got something right? :)

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Originally Posted by jglass38

That you got something right? :)

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No...that you finally admitted it.

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Originally Posted by cassandra

No...that you finally admitted it.

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Don't get too used to it! :D

i actually just did it the other day because one my pythons was opaque when i went to feed him... popped the mouse back in the freezer until he shed and all was well.

on a side note, the first snake book i ever got was a book by R.D. Bartlett - who's pretty much 'the man' as far as herpetocultural literature goes (if you're going by experience and creditials). he notes that, because snakes eat carrion in the wild, it's okay to refreeze a refused prety item... for what that's worth.

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

on a side note, the first snake book i ever got was a book by R.D. Bartlett - who's pretty much 'the man' as far as herpetocultural literature goes (if you're going by experience and creditials). he notes that, because snakes eat carrion in the wild, it's okay to refreeze a refused prety item... for what that's worth.

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Bartlett is the man!

Most snakes found in the wild that do eat carrion are full of internal parasites. For my investment quality snakes, I would not chance anything. It is just not worth it to me.

I've heard someone say that one of their snakes prefers prey that has been thawed, re-frozen and then thawed again. The freezing breaks down the cell structure making it easier to digest and also much more pungent. I'd assume that that particular snake must prefer it because of the smell. I wouldn't think that refreezing once would be an issue if handled properly.

That being said, I probably wouldn't do it unless I was out of money and down to my last mouse or something. I should shut my mouth though, because that isn't a very unlikely scenario for me.:rolleyes: