Frozen Food Smell?

Tom · 5th January 2010, 11:50 AM

i cant remember who told me, but i was feeding my boas the other night, and the rats really smelt, as in Alot!..
now some frozen food does not smell that much, and i was wondering what was best?..

i remember someone telling me that if it smelt Alot, it was not "blast fozen" or something like that, i cant remember 100%, it was along the lines of if it didnt smell, it had been frozen properly, and was fresher?..
anyone know what i mean?...

in other words, whats best,smelly, or non smelly frozen food?....lol

EmeraldSapphirez · 5th January 2010, 12:52 PM

Non smelly, by common sense really. If it smells really bad then the decomposition process has already started, meaning the animal was not frozen as soon as it died.

On another note, bloody noses indicates an insufficient level of gas used to gas rodents. I have noticed that Peregrine Livefoods always have rats and mice with bloody noses, whereas Monkfield never does. Its a sure sign that the company has taken their time to work out the correct level of gas required to gas a certain number of rodents in the chamber.

When you see bloody noses its usually because the gas chamber has been over-filled with rodents for its capacity, meaning that the amount of gas added to the chamber isn't enough to kill the animals instantly and thus they suffer a long and very uncomfortable death.

So for Peregrine's convenience they will try to fill gas chambers to above their capacity and turn a blind eye to the suffering they've caused.

Tom · 5th January 2010, 01:05 PM

Thank you, thats what i thought.
the bloody nose is good to know also, as im sure there are alot of people out there who didnt know that like myself.

thanks daisy.

Kirstyx · 5th January 2010, 01:54 PM

thats very interesting btw, because the last few mice ive fed my snake have smelled really bad once ive took them out the boiling water, the smell makes me boak, and afew of them have fell apart (yuk!) when that happens i just start over again. But ive not noticed the bloody noses, ill look for that next time.

Is it still okay to give the mice to the snakes if they smell still ? .. Or can it cause them any problems or make them unwell?

EmeraldSapphirez · 5th January 2010, 02:11 PM

Kirsty, the reason your mice are smelling bad and falling apart is because you're using boiling water, which is very dangerous as if the prey item is offered fairly soon after being heated then there's a high chance of you burning the snake.

A nice, usually clean and non smelly way to heat up rodents is to pop them in a sandwich bag (you may have to double bag if your bags are thin) and then into a cup of warm water. It doesn't have to be very hot, but hot enough for that heat to be transferred to the rodent.

Another way is to warm them up with a hairdryer, but depending on the size of the rodent this can take ages and there can be a bit of a whiff.

When you add boiling water to the rodent you are essentially cooking it very quickly, causing the gases in the stomach to expand and rupture the lining, hence why as soon as the rodent is lifted up it usually bursts.

I can imagine it wouldn't particularly hurt the snake if the rodent offered smelt a bit, but it's always best to offer fresher prey items because a foul odour indicates a growth of the bacteria involved in decomposition.

Tom · 5th January 2010, 02:44 PM

i leave mine out for a few hours, in a tub, on the radiator..

then blast them hot with a hairdryer..( well the head anyway).. as thats what part i offer them 1st.

Kirstyx · 5th January 2010, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmeraldSapphirez

Kirsty, the reason your mice are smelling bad and falling apart is because you're using boiling water, which is very dangerous as if the prey item is offered fairly soon after being heated then there's a high chance of you burning the snake.

A nice, usually clean and non smelly way to heat up rodents is to pop them in a sandwich bag (you may have to double bag if your bags are thin) and then into a cup of warm water. It doesn't have to be very hot, but hot enough for that heat to be transferred to the rodent.

Another way is to warm them up with a hairdryer, but depending on the size of the rodent this can take ages and there can be a bit of a whiff.

When you add boiling water to the rodent you are essentially cooking it very quickly, causing the gases in the stomach to expand and rupture the lining, hence why as soon as the rodent is lifted up it usually bursts.

I can imagine it wouldn't particularly hurt the snake if the rodent offered smelt a bit, but it's always best to offer fresher prey items because a foul odour indicates a growth of the bacteria involved in decomposition.

Aww I under stand why they sometimes fall apart. A few reptile keepers have said that its an okay ways to feed them. Its always worked for me, but Before I offer them to my snakes I certainly wait for them to cool down. I would never offer them staight away as its clear it would burn them, i doubt they would take it if it was hot. Tbh its only the XL Mice that seem to smell, I'll try buying them from a different reptile shop :)

Tom · 5th January 2010, 04:10 PM

online kirsty..

there are sooo many good online shops that are so cheap, and good.
just watch out for postage costs.