Do you keep frozen feeders in the same freezer as your frozen foods?

I always wondered that, just because I've heard people do that but like my dad
doesn't approve of that just because the idea of having rats in the freezer
doesn't sound too healthy and it can cause diseases. I've thought about it
since they are laboratory rats, there shouldn't be a problem right? Chickens and
other meats exist in our freezer and can pose the same risk? Correct?

I just don't want to buy a damn freezer just to hold 50 rats for the year, a
little waste of money buying the freezer and the costs of leaving it on to
support 1 rat by the end of the year. Local pet stores sells a medium for $5.29
in Canada which is killer! I rather buy from expos and feeding frozen is safer for my snakes anyways!

Tell me what you guys think of having rats in the same freezer as your frozen foods!

My frozen feeders are in the same freezer as the rest of our food. I don't see anything different from a frozen rat as I do a frozen fish or slab of meat. There's no disease I know of that can jump from one frozen hunk of meat to another frozen hunk of something else inside a freezer. :P

However, that said...I try not to make it obvious that there are dead rodents in the freezer. They stay securely sealed and wrapped up discreetly and tucked into the back where an unsuspecting (and likely weak-stomached) guest is unlikely to encounter them.

I have my mice in the same freezer as my foods. They are in a separate shelf and in Ziploc bags. I don't understand the basis of the spread of disease argument. Its below freezing point and therefore any parasites would die. Also if properly sealed in the Ziploc bag they won't get out. The main argument against having them in the same freezer is that in the end it is a dead rodent which is a yuck factor for most.
:)

Same freezer bottom shelf with my venison,duck & wild hog

Well, once frozen, any diseases or parasites they may have die. I think it has to be frozen for 30 days if i'm not mistaken. Somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

I live with 2 roomates and we have a huge freezer in our basement that's divided between us. I keep my rats/mice in there BUT they're in 2 separate shopping bags inside of an old microwave pizza box. If they knew they were in there they'd be pissed. :O I hope one of them doesn't try to eat my "pizzas" :rofl:

YEP!!! Frozen mice and Frozen beef are happily in the same freezer when i have em :D

Same freezer, I've got them in a box clearly labeled "MICE" so my boyfriend doesn't get a surprise... not that he ever cooks for himself.

As far as diseases go, Rats and Mice bred for feeders should be healthy stock, they won't carry anything that could hurt you and definitely aren't gonna be 'running' around your freezer 'infecting' your foods. Your gonna feed them to your pet for heavens sake, it's just meat. :P

Also, I breed my own feeders, handle and love them when they're alive, why would the frozen ones be bad for me if the live ones are not?

Just don't microwave them...boy... is that a clean-up and a half.

actually even healthy feeder mice and rats can contain stuff, its not common, but its possible.

i have them in the back of my freezer in a ziplock bag and in a brown lunch bag so it doesnt freak people out

I keep mine in the same as food, although I am careful to double bag and to not touch the outside of the bag with rat on my hands. I also keep the food bagged.

There are umpteen billions of types of pathogens that can live well below freezing point, so the freezer can not be regarded as an autoclave in my opinion.

JonV

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jombolo

Just don't microwave them...boy... is that a clean-up and a half.

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*snort!* literaly lol. Yeah don't do that! Unlike marshmallows the gooey explosion is NOT a yummy suprise. :O

Why the **** were you microwaving rodents anyway? Just for the people who don't know... NEVER use a microwave to heat your snakes food, they tend to cook the meat and cooked meat is very BAD for snakes. Heat in a bowl of hot water, or defrost in the fridge and warm under a lamp instead... or do like me and do both, defrost in fridge overnight then use hot water to raise to body heat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neal

actually even healthy feeder mice and rats can contain stuff, its not common, but its possible.

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True, but nothing that's could hurt you... at least in my experience. I don't mean to exclude possibilities. But the chances of infecting yourself or your food with a frozen feeder is so close to zero...it's not worth scaring people with.

Keep double bagged next to my vegetarian bacon and chicken fingers! :gj:

:rofl:

If it was going to kill me, it would've happened by now.

Yes when I stated they can contain stuff I was referring to them with reptiles. I know nothing they could possibly have, IF they were to have would be anything that could harm us. I just meant like even feeder mice can contain things that could cause a snake issue.

I keep them in the freezer/fridge(when I'm thawing to feed), with my food. Mostly in clear ziploc baggies.
Once I did have a guest reach to get a frozen pizza out, and when he lifted it, there was a bag of mice underneath. He was horrified, and I was delighted. "Oh!! I thought I was OUT of mice!! Cool!"

He suddenly wasn't hungry, and I don't believe he's been back. I did enjoy the whole pizza by myself, so it's not bad.
I've told people "They're dead.. they won't eat much of the frozen food in there." Or called them "ratcicles" and referred to the built in handle....
I seriously doubt there is anything that can jump from a frozen rat to other food to bother us humans.

I have a small 5 cu ft freezer in my basement. I keep frozen feeders in their packing trays inside a garbage bag underneath all the food. This is not a known fact to anyone but me.

I keep them in the same freezer as with my food also. One shelf dedicated to them pretty much, but I've always thought it was funny to see lean cuisines and rats when I open it. Tasty...:)

We have a shelf dedicated to rats in my freezer. Although we are running out of space so we are looking into buying a deep freezer just for rats! :rofl:

You could always just buy a solid colored plastic container from the dollar store, clearly mark it "snake food" and just keep your frozen rodents in their freezer bags inside that. If a germ can manage to be frozen solid and yet get through a freezer bag and a solid plastic closed container to infect your dinnertime frozen pork chop - well we are all in deep doo doo from that super germ LOL.

I have a small freezer in the snake room that just holds my bulk frozen feeders.

I have kept them my regular freezer before, but it got to the point that we had no food in the regular freezer. Just rodents and the odd frozen pasta dinner. (Lots of containers where ICE CREAM has been blacked out and RATS put in its place.

I also had a few frozen snakes in there, and retired breeder rats, old pets, etc. (they were waiting to head out to the country to be buried in my mother in law`s garden).

At some point I was told...

1) No more dead animals in the freezer
2) No more dead animals on the counter
3) Nothing dead past THAT (snake room) door unless it comes out of there in a garbage bag and stays in that bag.

So yeah. The freezer is now just for human food. Having a freezer just for snakes has been great. I traded one pastel male last season for feeders and it filled the freezer up the first week I had it.

Bruce

Since I have rather squeamish family members, I try to make my feeders discreet. Their inside a large ziplock, inside a grocery bag, inside a large tupperware tub. The tub being the rubber seal kind where no air gets in or out, used to keep foods extra fresh. I highly recommend doing as I do if your parents dont approve of them in the freezer. Then clearly label with a sharpie "MICE/RATS". I doubt he will mind after all of that trouble. lol

I have put rats in the freezer with the food. Now I feed live. I found the foodsaver vacuum seal bag are good for rats, no freezer burn and they can be frozen individually or in groups, depending on your needs.
I only freeze em if I have a surplus. I try to manage my rat colony so I don't have to many rats.
They are in their own freezer now. The wife and daughter hated having them in there no matter what. I'm sure it's safe to do,(rats and food together) but it is kinda creepy.:weirdface

I vacuum seal mine, wrap them in a paper towel and then put them in a Tupperware container. They do not get freezer burn and come out as fresh as they went in.

I've been banned from putting animal food in the human fridge and freezers. He's no fun. :rolleyes:

Thankfully, I have an old stand up fridge/freezer out in the garage I can use for the bird and snake goodies.

+1 on the vacuum sealing. I also date them and stack them accordingly. Then I can rotate them like bread at the store.:gj:

My mother refuses to come over for dinner :rolleyes: Does not help when my boyfriend says, "Aw, rats AGAIN!?" It's right about then my mom turns a little green :rofl:
Poor woman

so, yes, they are kept in the same freezer - very well marked as "Snake Vittles - not for Sandy" (my mom)

I keep mine in the same freezer to mom's displeasure .. But I do vacuum pack my rodents when I get them in or as i off a group to be frozen..

That being said I got so many rodents I think I gongi to need ottoss them out soone cause their are soem in ther over 5 months .I am not sure if they go bad frozen but i am producing more than I am using ..

Yep, same freezer as food...But it's in the basement...Just have to make sure people who don't know about them there don't go down and take stuff out...Scared a friend really bad when they were getting out some chilled:D spirits...

Same freezer, but in a bag and in a door shelf, not touching my other food

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mechnut450

I keep mine in the same freezer to mom's displeasure .. But I do vacuum pack my rodents when I get them in or as i off a group to be frozen..

That being said I got so many rodents I think I gongi to need ottoss them out soone cause their are soem in ther over 5 months .I am not sure if they go bad frozen but i am producing more than I am using ..

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Post an add on craigslist that you have cheap frozen feeders.

Fish, grean beans, frozen soy fake chicken, mice. yup.

they come airtight in a sealed bag. When I open them they go into a sealable plastic container. your dad is mistaken, just has the idea of "rats in the freezer" in his head.

Ya know, I've never even though about it... O.o
I just keep them in zip-loc baggies and stuff them wherever in the freezer they will fit. On the outside of the bag I write 'MICE - (date)' but its probably pretty obvious that they're mice at that point though since the baggies are see-through. I slightly enjoy giving our guests heartattacks though. :] Luckily my mom puts up with it and refrains from taking any action each time she pulls out a bag-o-micicles except for a grossed out face. Ahh, well.

I use the bottom shelf of my freezer for my meat and rats, and the top shelf for veggies and stuff. Hamburger is most likely dirtier and more contaminated with bacteria than feeder rats, so I don't worry about that at all... :P

Not me. I have a freezer specifically for my frozen feeders.

Yes.
They're just another type of meat to me.

I do.... at the bottom of the freezer!!;)

yes, same freezer, bottom shelf. 5 yr old granddaughter was here last night and I was feeding snakes. She kept following me around saying how hungry she was. I told her to give me a few minutes and then I would check and see what I had to eat. She said 'anything but a rat, please' without missing a lick.