Best if used by......?

[lasweetswan]

For frozen feeders, how long is it safe for the food to be in the freezer before it needs to be consumed? I know I might seem dumb asking. I just recently found a local breeder and am buying from him instead if spending $7 per rat at a pet shop. Issue being is that I only have 3 BPs, an he sells 25 at a time, and only 2 of my BPs are big enough to eat the 25 that I currently have, which means with feeding once a week, that bag would last 2+ months.

How long will they stay fresh (which doesn't even seem like the right word since we are talking about dead rats here, lol)?

[EchoPyrex]

If you keep them properly stored, from 8 months to a year.

[GoFride]

All mine eat frozen thawed. I get better prices if I buy a bunch at one time (say, three months worth). Plus it saves me time and gas - only have to buy feeders four times a year. Make sure you use shrink wrap for freezing them (best) or freezer bags (next best). Don't freeze them all in one big clump, because then you'll have to either A) try to "unstick" little frozen bodies to get just the amount you need, or B) thaw out too many at a time. Separate them out, freeze them in their little "rat packs" so each pack is one weeks feeding. Works for me! If kept sealed and hard frozen, they should be fine for at least six months. Shrink wrapped, from what I've been told, stays good for up to a year.

[jasbus]

You can keep them together in one bag. The fur keeps them from sticking together. Unless they were wet when they were packed.

I sell frozen, I tell my customers that they are good for a year as long as they are repacked well each time.
But, honestly, they will be good for a lot longer than that...

[lasweetswan]

Great guys, thanks!

[cmz1234]

I vacuum seal my feeders into 3 week feedings for each snake. Then wash out the bag and re-use it later on. I do this because I bought enough food for an entire year and I wanted everything to last a long time.