Does Freezer Burned food kill?

[loonunit]

I think it's probably more dangerous (or at least more likely to lead to regurge) to feed them overheated f/t or f/t that have been left out too long and have begun to spoil. BP digestion is designed for fresh-killed prey---but the changes to the proteins cells that take place due to spoilage or "cooking" under a heat lamp are a lot more profound than what happens during freezer burn.

But generally? If my ball python seems really reluctant to take a suspicious food item, I try to take the hint and throw it out. Rather than pushing the issue. I'd rather spend a little extra on mice, than have to clean up a regurge later.

[Highline Reptiles South]

Let me pose it this way:

Would YOU eat freezer burned food?

Then why would you feed it to your animals?

you have taste buds, snakes don't...

[lk_holla]

from what i understand, even for us freezer-burned food isn't necessarily bad, it just tastes terrible. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) for me, constantine won't even consider it if its been frozen a while, much less freezer burned.

[m00kfu]

you have taste buds, snakes don't...

Exactly what I was going to say! With that said, I have noticed that some of my ball pythons will refuse to eat something that's been in the freezer for too long.

[TheWinWizard]

My ball python will only eat rats from my friend Jack. I've tried numerous others, but only his will be eaten. I think they have some type of taste, smell combo.

[JLC]

Nothing frozen will ever compare to a fresh meal. PERIOD. It is well-known that freezing kills thiamin (Vitamin B) and freezer burn damages tissue. if frozen too quickly moisture crystallizes damaging the tissue, however it would take a lifetime of sub-par meals and freezer burnt prey to "cause diseases" though, i thinks thats a little overboard.

On that note, have a kid and decide to feed it only frozen food its whole life. My bet is a noticeable difference between your childs health and its peers!

IMHO

I have to disagree with much of this post. First off, ALL freezing causes moisture to crystallize and damage tissue. The FASTER something is frozen, the smaller those crystals will be and the less damage they will cause. Flash freezing causes almost no damage at all. Also, when frozen properly (as quickly as possible) food often retains MORE of its nutrients than if left alone. Many fresh vegetables, for instance...begin to lose their nutrients the moment they are picked. In the days it takes them to travel from the farm to the store to your own table, they can lose much of their nutrients. If they are flash frozen immediately after being picked (as is the case with most frozen veggies) they retain far more of their original nutrients.

Rodents aren't veggies, obviously, but based on millions of animals being fed frozen prey items over decades and decades of life with no ill effects, I'd say that the tiny bit of nutrients lost in the freezing process is not the least bit detrimental to the predator.

And I'd also be willing to bet that if I fed my child only frozen foods that are whole foods, veggies, fruits, whole grains and organic meats and poultry....they'd be FAR more healthy than any child fed a typical American diet of processed junk food, no matter how "fresh" that junk food may be. Just sayin'....

EDIT: Forgot to add my thoughts on the original topic: Freezer burn is not harmful in any way. It's just distasteful to human sensibilities. It may, however, cause the animal to smell different and increase the chances of refusal for some finicky eaters.