Using CO2 your rodents will be safe to feed right away. CO2 does not stay in the body like other chemicals might. They'll be fine.
The rodents will also freeze fairly quickly. They should be frozen within a few hours. If you were to kill your rodents and feed your snake one immediately then freeze the rest, they will certainly be frozen solid by the next feeding day.
You should be able to keep frozen rodents up to a year if they are packaged right. The worst enemy to keeping them frest is air. I freeze mine in small groups (like 6 per bag) and use the really heavy duty freezer bags with the double zipper closure and make sure to squeeze all the air out. This will help prevent freezer burn. I don't generally recommend keeping them a full year because I like mine to be fresher, but it can be done. 6 months is a better time frame for me and you should be good with that especially if you're prekilling your own.
Reply With Quote