Keeping a rat?

[engywook]

I put out a rat to defrost but I'm not going to be able to feed it to Monty tonight. Will it keep in a fridge until tomorrow night or do I need to refreeze it?

[gmmuscle91]

Why wont you be able to feed it to him tonight?

[xdeus]

I put out a rat to defrost but I'm not going to be able to feed it to Monty tonight. Will it keep in a fridge until tomorrow night or do I need to refreeze it?

The fridge should be fine. If you refreeze it, it will turn out pretty mushy and won't be a pretty sight if your snake is an agressive feeder.

[engywook]

I won't be able to make it home tonight, gmmuscle, and I keep the rats with me in the lab fridge/freezer.

Thanks, xdeus; I'll leave it in the fridge. Is there really a problem with mushiness and refreezing? I've refrozen a few rats when the kids refused to feed and they've been fine when I tried agian...

[xdeus]

Well, the act of freezing will actually break down the cell walls due to the formation of ice crystals. The more you freeze and thaw, the more those cells will break down and you will end up with a very mushy rat. It's not too bad if your snake grabs it in an area with a lot of bone and cartilage like its face, but if it has a strong strike on the body there is the potential of it breaking through the skin and releasing all of that gooey goodness.

[Smulkin]

but if it has a strong strike on the body there is the potential of it breaking through the skin and releasing all of that gooey goodness.

Having experienced this a few times you can't do that nastiness justice in a worded description - its worse on loose substrate but any way the cookie crumbles (rodent pops?) it's definitely something you can do without!