how long can you keep frozen mice

[bsr8129]

I have gotten frozen mice from a reputable supplier, wont mention names because they were perfect when i got them, this was about 4 months ago i guess, the hoppers have been in the freezer and placed in a zip lock bag, well now they have white spots on them that look like freezer burn, it seems to go away once they are thawed out.

My question are they still good? i have ruffly 30 more left and would hate to throw them away, but dont want to feed bad mice. how long can i keep frozen mice?

[xchris]

i heard 6 months but im not positive on that, as for the white spots ehh i would look into that i thought i remembered hearing that was like milk spots or something but im not quite sure... i just replied because no one else had and well thats all i know on that subject, my opinion is to wait on feeding them to your snake until someone who KNOWS the answer replies..sorry :shrugs:

[suecornish]

I have had frozen in freezer for a year now. Still good. White spots are freezer burn; if the item is too white I toss it.

[ssmith_1187]

As a way to prevent that, and as Sue has stated it certainly sounds like freezer burn, I vacuum seal ALL of my feeders in Food Saver vacuum sealed bags.

This also allows me to sort them in 2 gram increments (i.e. 19.00-20.99, 21.00-22.99 grams) so I know exactly how big the mice in the bag are.

I put them in big enough bags so that I can cut the top off, take a mouse out, and reseal the bag.

Regards,
Steve

[batwrangler]

If you look up guidelines for food-quality meat for human consumption, 6-9 months is the recommended maximum freezer time for best quality, however it can keep just fine for much longer than that.

The USDA says:
"Food stored constantly at 0 °F will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness."

For more information see:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp#2

[suecornish]

The other thing I have read somewhere is that freezing breaks down the cell walls and this makes it easier to digest.

I generally do the same sorting thing but this last time ran out of vacumn sealer bags. I got 100 rat pinkies and they range from 3 grams to 9 grams. It makes it easier to move up to the next size as the hatchling is growing. Rats have a higher fat content than mice so my overweight brain sees it as better. It's power feeding without power feeding.