Frozen Rat Question

[danielwilu2525]

I heard that the way to store frozen rats for a long time Is to keep the bag air tight with no air whatsoever. However, would this affect my frozen feeders if i open the bag and air comes in? I'm slightly confused with this. Would I have to separate each rat into little bags so it wont affect my whole entire supply? Any help is appreciated!

[Stingray74]

Nah, air getting in when you take the rats out to defrost is no big deal at all. The airtight seal you're hearing about is for long-term storage to avoid freezer burn. Here's how I do it.... When I receive my rats, I separate and weigh them in to individual baggies (not a Ziploc-type. Just a basic sandwich bag). I then throw all of those individual baggies into a larger vacuum seal bag. When I cut the vacuum seal bag from the roll, I make it about 18" longer then it would be if I were just storing food in the freezer. I then vac seal the entire thing until it's needed next week for feeding.

Once feeding time rolls around, I cut off the very end of the sealed bag (this is where the extra 18" of sealer bag comes into play). I usually only need to cut about 1/2" off the sealed part of the bag to be able to open it up. I grab my rats for defrosting, then re-seal the big bag, keeping everything fresh and frost-free until the next feeding. The extra 18" of bag allows me to re-seal the big bag many times before needing to make a new bag. Works like a charm for me and saves a lot of cash on vac seal material.

In a nutshell, get a vacuum sealer (Foodsaver, etc.) I found mine at a local resale shop for $10 and it gets the job done.

[danielwilu2525]

Interesting, thanks for sharing the info!