When do frozen thawed mice expire?

There is a package date on the frozen mice I buy but no expiration date. One of the boxes says the mice were packaged in May 2018. Is that too long ago? What is the max length of time from packaging that it is still okay to feed the mice? And are there any ways to tell if a frozen mouse is too stale to feed?

Well technically they expired the moment they were dead :rofl:

But seriously, as a general rule meat is good in deep freeze for a year.
4-6 months at most in a regular freezer, assuming they have been well-sealed and are near the back of the freezer.

I had not properly sealed some of mine when I was newer to snakes, and they developed freezer burn. It was easy to see because they were baby mice.
Others have gotten way too bloaty when being thawed, which made me think they were too old. They should soften but not bloat.

Personally, I'd still use them as long if they don't have a TON of ice crystals surrounding them.

I've fed frozen rats (well packaged) over a year before.....and I've definately ate meat myself from the freezer after a year (venison all the time). Good enough for me, good enough for my snakes.

My first post here!
I buy all my rodents at reptile shows because its far cheaper than any I have come across in a pet store. I also don't have to pay for and mess with shipping, like I would have to if I got them online. Since I only have 2 snakes at the moment (ball python and blood python), one bag can last me quite a while. I have fed rats that have been in my freezer for 6-8 months. I guess my rule would personally be not longer than a year in the freezer, and to throw out any with freezer burn and ice crystals on the body.

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Originally Posted by Treeman

My first post here!
I buy all my rodents at reptile shows because its far cheaper than any I have come across in a pet store. I also don't have to pay for and mess with shipping, like I would have to if I got them online. Since I only have 2 snakes at the moment (ball python and blood python), one bag can last me quite a while. I have fed rats that have been in my freezer for 6-8 months. I guess my rule would personally be not longer than a year in the freezer, and to throw out any with freezer burn and ice crystals on the body.

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Welcome Mr Treeman!

If vacuumed sealed shelf life is up to a year.

Thanks MR Snakes!
And I agree with what everyone else says as well, packaging them right plays an important role in the shelf life of the rodents and preventing freezer burn.

Thank you everyone for the input! I don't think the mice I bought are vacuum-sealed and I am using a regular freezer, but I'll keep an eye out for ice crystals, freezer burn, and bloating and take those as signs that the mice should be thrown out. I will also aim to get mice that were packaged less than 6 months ago and find a supplier that vacuum seals the mice in the future.