How recent does recently deceased prey need to be?

The question I have is what killed the hoppers? I had 2 mice left together and one killed the other. Is that what happened here?

Not at all. At least, I saw no indication of that. No bites, nicks, etc. My best guess would be dehydration, as I was not very successful in getting them to drink water during the week I had them. They were noticably less weighty and not feeling well that morning. The one that lived was older, bigger, and drank at least a couple drops verifyably.

I feed my Pacific Boas frozen / thawed geckos, and have found that if I store them for more than about 2 months my boas are reluctant to feed, but regain their appetite once I have a fresher batch. Is there any known "sell by" dates for frozen food animals, or how long do most people store frozen prey?

I store rodents for a good amount of time. A year or more for adults, working it down to about 6 months max for pinks before they are frostbitten to death. The older they are, the longer they stay fresh it seems to me.

Not really sure how something like geckos, or feeder animals that don't have any fur to protect the tissues from frostbite. ??

What happens with frozen prey (aside from freese burn obviously) is that the fat gets rancid in a process called peroxidation. Any animal that has some fat in it will smell differently when left for a prologed period of time in the freezer. How long? I don't really know.

Thanks, looks like I'm within safe limits on expiry dates anyway. I have had some freezer burn on smaller gecko legs and the snakes sure don't like those.

Originally Posted by The BoidSmith

What happens with frozen prey (aside from freese burn obviously) is that the fat gets rancid in a process called peroxidation. Any animal that has some fat in it will smell differently when left for a prologed period of time in the freezer. How long? I don't really know.

That smell you speak of is how I know the pinks are a goner. LOL The fuzzies and weanlings go next. I have yet to smell it on an adult rat. I think I had some that were in for 14 months +/-. (Yeah, I bought way too many )