Question on frozen feeders ????

Okay here is the issue......
I am on the last 25 package of frozen feeders I purchased them
approximately 3 months ago. The problem is that these last ones
look worse for wear. They appear very thin, and when I put them
in hot water to thaw they seem to explode, or tear open. I go
to remove them from the baggie and thier organs are on the
outside.
I do not feel comfortable feeding these to my babies.
Any clue what is going on, the first 100 or so were fine,
now this problem? They are packaged as purchased wrapped
in freezer paper and inside heavy zip lock bags, could they
still have been freezer burned ? This is the only thing I can
think is causing this.

Thanks for any thoughts, Ginger Ambrose

Were these last ones defrosted and re-frozen?

No they were not. That is one of the reasons I can't quite figure this out.
They have stayed frozen solid from day one. It only seems to happen
The insides out, when I thaw with hot water, If I just leave them out
to thaw they stay normal, except the skinny appearance.

Ginger

I'm not sure then. I've had some occasionally "pop" some intestines before but usually that is mouse or rat pink's, which could be caused by the feet of the others when defrosting them.

Well, Thanks for your thoughts.
These are all rat pups, I just have no idea.
I just wonder if I should go ahead and use them.
Thus far I just toss them and start over, but this gets a bit expensive.
I am considering changing my supplier, as a local has told me they can
provide my feeder needs at a better rate and I can hand pick the
size and date of preparation, so I will know exactaly how long they
have been frozen. This will also allow me to purchase smaller lots at
a time. So I do not have 20 pkgs. of rat-cicles in the freezer for months.
If this all works out then we will see if I have the same problems.
Ginger

I have had a few do that, but i let mine thaw overnite. I have fed them to my snakes with no ill-effect!! But usually if that happens, i just feed them to my monitors or tegus..Mike Leonard

Originally Posted by old beginner

It only seems to happen,The insides out, when I thaw with hot water, If I just leave them out to thaw they stay normal, except the skinny appearance.

I've found that thawing them out too quickly, i.e. very hot water, will cause what you have described.

I usually leave them for five or six hours in a warm room. But one day I got the bright idea to "nuke" some water and get it really hot and put my frozen mice in a baggie thinking they would thaw quicker. Yeah they thawed quicker.

Bad idea, let me say that again: BAD IDEA. They were very mushy and even though no water got in the baggie, they were kind of moist and some had guts hanging out everywhere. Yech, I couldn't feed them to my snakes. The cats liked them, though.

Karen,
That was it ! I figured it out yesterday. That was the only thing
I had done that I do not normally do. I also usually let them thaw
for several hours but had forgotten to pull them out before I left
for work so I thought that I would just "fix that" NEVER again.
I like a dummy, I'm so dense sometimes.
Thanks all, Ginger

Originally Posted by Karen Hulvey

The cats liked them, though.

Mmmm, mushy mouse soup.

I always thaw quickly in hot water and have never had an explosion event. Weird...