Freezer Burn?

Hi Everyone,
I recently switched my 12 month old over to hoppers. They have been kept in the freezer for several months in a zip-lock bag, but they are freezer burned. Are they still okay to feed?
Also, does one hopper a week sound good for a snake that is a little over 2 and a half feet in length? Should I take it up to two once a week? Thanks! Wendy

vacuum seal

to help cut down on freezer burns I use a vacuum sealer AKA food saver. Zip lock bags allow to much air inside after you seal them, the air causes the mice to get freezer burnt a lot quicker than if they were in a vacuum sealed bag. I am guessing that a little freezer burn wouldn't be bad, although if you can get fresher ones I would. As for how much to feed that is pretty much up to you and your snake. You can try 2 if you get a regurge then cut back to 1 the following feeding.

Well to answer some of your questions, a little freezer burn is okay to feed the snake. I wouldn't feed it if the freezer burn is like half the size of the mouse though......some snakes don't mind having a little freezer burn in the mice and some do......it really depend on your snake. Try and you'll know if it minds eating freezer burn mice. If it does, I would go with kenster's idea of getting vacumed bags for the mice to avoid freezer burns.

I would try letting a two feet and a half snake eat a bit more than a hopper a week. Since it's still small (only 12 months old) I would try feeding a hopper every 4-5 days instead of feeding two hoppers per meal. Digestion this way is much much easier. Also since you said that you just up graded the mice from a fuzzy (assuming since you didn't say) to a hopper I would say that one mouse per feed is good enough. Try feeding every 4-5 days and your snake should grow much faster!

Hope this helped.
Good Luck and Happy Herping!

Not sure if this would work but....

I know when I was little and my mom used to freeze things like strawberries and stuff she would take a freezer bag (not a ziploc but the ones with the twist ties), but the stuff inside then put a straw in the bag (right above the food). Then she'd hold the top of the bag tight around the straw and suck the air out of the bag with the straw, get the straw out without letting air in and carfully put the twist tie on. This seems like the same thing (though maybe not quite as good) as a more expensive vacuum sealer machine. This might be an inexpensive way to cut down on freezer burn. Anyone have any thoughts?

i think that is a great idea for food. well, people food but not snake food. i think if my wife ever walked into the kitchen and saw me sucking on a straw that was stuck into a baggie filled with pinkies i'd be hard-pressed trying to find the words to talk her into ever kissing me again. ---jim

Hrm...yes I suppose that would be a bit strange

I was just thinking that if they were already frozen and you just needed to re-package them in smaller quantities it would be an ok solution. Some people may probably find it weird/gross I guess. Never thought of it that way

I'm with you Jim, I'd rather kiss my girlfriend than do that too.

My logic is this on the freezer burn:

Would you want to eat food that was freezer burned?

Not me, so I vote no on feeding snakes freezer burned rodents.

My 22-24 inch female ghost nails two hoppers every 5-7 days. My 30 inch male normal eats 2 as well every 5-7 days.

Time for me to start keeping a log of when they eat and shed.

Peter