Leaving rats in the fridge????

[Jonas@Balls2TheWall]

When feeding frozen thawed I usually take the rats out of the freezer and leave them to thaw out in the fridge overnight. Yesterday before I fed the snakes I noticed that one of them had gone blue, so I had one extra rat that I left in the fridge (never heated it up). How long do you think the rat will last in the fridge before its not safe to feed? I know I could just re-freeze it but Im curious to know this.

THANKS

[Jessica Loesch]

Your snake might still eat it ... I still offer my snakes food and haven't had refusal yet.
I'd try feeding it and if he doesn't take it, just throw it out.

[Jonas@Balls2TheWall]

Your snake might still eat it ... I still offer my snakes food and haven't had refusal yet.
I'd try feeding it and if he doesn't take it, just throw it out.

I have tried feeding this guy while blue before, never takes. See no reason to throw it away if its still fresh.

[Kymberli]

I agree with offering food still. Mine all eat during any stage of shedding. Unless you know for certain that this particular snake will refuse to eat while in blue, might as well offer it still.

EDIT: Never mind, you just answered that, lol.
I'd stick the rat back in the freezer.

[Jessica Loesch]

Nevermind as well!! I wasn't sure if refreezing was okay, but hey why not lol.

[Kymberli]

I've been told it's only okay to refreeze once. After that, the internal organs begin to break down and the rat begins to rot. I've successfully thawed out, warmed up, refrozen, and thawed out again. Obviously if you thaw it out the second time and it looks or smells a bit off then you should toss it, but once is usually fine.

[mues155]

Id give it a max of 3 days in the fridge IMO.

[Strick]

For your answer to the original question. 7 days max @ 41 degrees or less, 5 days max @ 45 degrees or less. This is the standard used in the food industry and there are no preservatives in the product. You should have no issues refreezing it once. Every time you thaw and refreeze it changes the quality of any type of food item.