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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 19:00:41 GMT -5
So, I was packing up rats and quail and I accidentally left a rat in a bag out. ADD is strong with me  Today would be day 2 out at room temp. I put it in Floki's cage, and he ate the head and then took a nap. Now I am worried that it may have been sitting out too long. Would he still eat it if it was bad? Will he get sick? Thanks! |
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Post by Desiree on Feb 28, 2016 19:54:12 GMT -5
The normal time frame up to 48 hours. If it was frozen when taken out, it may have taken some time to defrost. I would take it out of his cage tonight. He shouldn't get sick and most ferrets won't eat meat after it's gone bad.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 20:19:13 GMT -5
The normal time frame up to 48 hours. If it was frozen when taken out, it may have taken some time to defrost. I would take it out of his cage tonight. He shouldn't get sick and most ferrets won't eat meat after it's gone bad. It wasn't frozen unfortunately! Thanks for the advice. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 20:31:23 GMT -5
One last question: how long can you leave meat in the fridge before you feed?
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Post by bitbyter on Feb 28, 2016 22:07:18 GMT -5
until it smells off. Usually 2 or three days.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2016 0:20:00 GMT -5
I left a whole bag of turkey necks in the fridge once for 4 days.(I forgot about prepping them <.<) It smelled little, but it was still good to the ferrets.. I personally wouldn't leave anything longer than 4-5 days. Especially when it starts to smell around 3-4 days. |
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Post by raynebc on Feb 29, 2016 15:14:02 GMT -5
Almost all of the food I buy for the ferrets is refrigerated instead of frozen, so as a rule I just try to prep and freeze all meat by the "use/freeze by" date on the packaging and I don't worry about it unless it's beyond that date. For frozen items (ie. duck necks, quail) I let it defrost for a day or two in the fridge and then prep it.
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Post by Corvidophile on Feb 29, 2016 17:27:42 GMT -5
I recommend using your nose as your strongest guideline- the humidity in my 102 year old house is VERY varied, last summer and fall I had exposed tissue smelling tangy after a day, this winter I can leave giant Guinea pigs in there until completion, about four days, with the exposed tissue smelling merely like dried meat.
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Post by bitbyter on Feb 29, 2016 18:53:23 GMT -5
It really does depend on how long it has been since it was killed. To give you an example. Most store bought meat smells off after 2-3 days. Freshly killed rabbit and quail I get from a local farmer have lasted almost TWO WEEKS in my fridge and still smelled perfectly fine.
Goes to show: A) how long meat might take to actually get on the shelves of the grocery store, B) how high the bacteria count from processing may actually be.
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