BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hey guys. my little munchkin is doing wonderfully, he's almost 6 months old now and is really growing. Today while at the pet store picking up worms for one of my geckos I decided to grab a 'can o' snails' for Gideon. I haven't opened it yet, but i'm just wondering a few things about them; How many should I let the monster eat in a sitting? And how do I keep them from going off? Can they be frozen at all? If possible i'd love to freeze them and give them as treats with his food for a week of so.

Cheers guys!

My guys would eat about 8 snails (different brand, I got my snails from an Asian market). They were about the circumference of an American quarter.

The only thing i don't like about the Zoo med can o snails is that the cans are usually too large for one or two skinks. Snails don't have to be used as a treat (they're good for skinks!), but the snails usually get nasty before I finish feeding them. I've never tried freezing them, but I'm not sure how well they would thaw. I rarely buy them since they're too expensive considering the amount that I waste.

I bought my snails frozen, and they thawed out rather quickly after running under hot water. After the skinks we're done pigging out, I sealed them in a zip-lock bag, and off to the freezer!

Dakota wrote:I bought my snails frozen, and they thawed out rather quickly after running under hot water. After the skinks we're done pigging out, I sealed them in a zip-lock bag, and off to the freezer!

Am I reading this right? The snails were frozen, then thawed and then re-frozen.

Yes? I thawed them all not knowing how much they would eat, after they ate their share, I then refroze them in an air-tight baggy (as much as possible anyways )

Foods once thawed should not be re-frozen unless their state is altered by cooking, especially meat. Micro-organisms that cause food poisoning will remain dormant whilst frozen but become active once the temperature reaches approx. 5°C, multiplying rapidly as the temperature increases. Once re-frozen they will again become dormant but at a much higher population waiting to be thawed once again. Lots of information about safe handling of foods on the internet worth reading (particularly government publications) as it is a complex issue with cell destruction etc.

El Lobo wrote:Foods once thawed should not be re-frozen unless their state is altered by cooking, especially meat. Micro-organisms that cause food poisoning will remain dormant whilst frozen but become active once the temperature reaches approx. 5°C, multiplying rapidly as the temperature increases. Once re-frozen they will again become dormant but at a much higher population waiting to be thawed once again. Lots of information about safe handling of foods on the internet worth reading (particularly government publications) as it is a complex issue with cell destruction etc.

Whoa.. I did not know of this..

The thawing/re-freezing meat thing is actually very controversial and may be exaggerated. In the US, previously frozen meat and fish is sold and is sometimes labelled on its packaging as safe to re-freeze.

The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F. If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly." (Source: Freezing and Food Safety, accessed 8/22/2010).

To be clear, I am not advocating feeding re-frozen snails to your BTS. Or re-frozen steak to you. But that said, if you did it, I doubt any harm would come to them (or you).

Obviously better to err on the side of caution though.

Ophidiophile wrote:The thawing/re-freezing meat thing is actually very controversial and may be exaggerated. In the US, previously frozen meat and fish is sold and is sometimes labelled on its packaging as safe to re-freeze.

The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F. If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly." (Source: Freezing and Food Safety, accessed 8/22/2010).

To be clear, I am not advocating feeding re-frozen snails to your BTS. Or re-frozen steak to you. But that said, if you did it, I doubt any harm would come to them (or you).

Obviously better to err on the side of caution though.

Handled properly is the key.

Although unintentional, the snails having been thawed under hot water do not match this criterion.

Dangerzone being any time in temp zone between 5 and 75 degrees celcius

Between those temps bacterias flourish

Personally once defrosted id never refreeze,the food safety act in australia frowns apon it to,whilst if handled right there may be no issue,its to help prevent the not handled right foods harming people

Thanks for all the replies guys. I got the Exoterra brand (only one sold at my local petstore) and was shocked at how little they were! Like, the snails are only as big as say a small blueberry. I put some into his feed but he didn't really eat them, i'll try again tomorrow though as he did chow down all of his regular food before I got a chance to add the snails, so he may have been full.

I will definitely freeze them as well, there are so many, i'd like to keep them and I think they may be more pleasant to handle frozen (I HATE snails lol).

With regards to our segway, I know it was always taught to never re-freeze things, but like Ophidiophile, I think I remember seeing an article awhile back that said it was actually just a myth. I dunno, I don't recommend doing it of course but it's worth researching and deciding for yourself I think.

Also, have a cute photo, because I had it laying around and have been wanting to post it XD

Beautiful northern!

Well the little munchkin plowed through about 13 of them tonight before telling me he was done. I dunno if it's a common bluey thing but when Gideon is done eating he'll toss his head and 'wipe' his face off on the ground. Very cute. I froze the remaining snails to add to his diet. Thanks again everyone!

Can Blueys get food poisoning? Are they able to handle food that is a bit lower quality than we would eat ourselves?

Being that they eat road kill in the wild I doubt it, but I still wouldn't chance spoiled food.