Help with F/T mice needed

[enyong112]

I used to feed live so, this would be my first time feeding F/T... here's the story:
Last week, i ordered some live mice from the guy I bought my BP from so that i can breed... He lives about 100-200 Kms from me... So he went ahead and sent me 9 mice... However due to the travel the mice were all dead when they got here, (super hot here BTW el nino phenomenon)... so he told me to wash them with water and individually put them inside a plastic bag and then put it inside the freezer... I did this to the 8, and fed 1 to my BP, the BP ate it and pooped a couple of days ago...
Now it's feeding day... I got one, and put it inside the chiller to slowly defrost...
Now the F/T mouse has a pinkish tail, ears, and feet...
I don't know if the mice are still good to feed...

What signs should I look for? if ever they're bad already...

Best,

Enyong

[Kaorte]

It will usually smell awful if it has gone bad.

if the mice died and you froze them right after they died, then they should be perfectly fine to feed to your snake. The mouse SHOULD have pink ears feet and tail...at least, that is what a normal live mouse looks like.

Just make sure you heat the rodent up well before you offer it so the snake can recognize it as a food source. If it is too cool then it will be hard for the snake to get a good strike. I use a hair dryer on the heads of my rats right before I feed them. Just a couple seconds is really all you need

[enyong112]

Thanks Steffe... My BP struck, constricted, swallowed the F/T...

BTW, F/T's inside the freezer never goes bad?

[maria1232]

i use a rule of thumb of 30 days - 60 if im pushing it, when it comes to feeding frozen mice, because in my own personal space i think the nutrients the snake needs go bad after a month, don't know if this is true, but i personally don't eat anything over 30 days in the freezer so i don't expect my snake to do it either

[dnnsfam]

i use a rule of thumb of 30 days - 60 if im pushing it, when it comes to feeding frozen mice, because in my own personal space i think the nutrients the snake needs go bad after a month, don't know if this is true, but i personally don't eat anything over 30 days in the freezer so i don't expect my snake to do it either

I know chicken and beef can be frozen for up to 3 months, not that sure on mice. But I would do the 30-60 days myself just to be safe.

[enyong112]

Thanks Guys!!!

[chapskis1]

I have food saver that I use to store my frozen rats. I order a year's supply at a time. Where I get them they come frozen with 20 rats in a bag. I repackage each one in its own bag, vacuum seal them, and throw them in the freezer.

According to the food saver manual, food can be stored for 3 years like this in the freezer. I figure a year should be fine for a rat.

BTW -- even the rats that I use after being in the freezer for that long look just like the ones I used after the first week of receiving them.

Good luck!