Odd colored f/t silversides???

[GarterSnake]

Hello,

Today I bought a bag of frozen Sally's Silversides from Petco. I have only bought one bag before, so I'm not sure if this is a big deal, but we bought the same size of fish as last time, but they were quite a bit bigger. They would still be small enough for him to be able to eat them, but that's not the only issue. They are yellow, not silver. I have never seen yellow silversides. I am leery of feeding them to my snake because of their sensitivity to thiaminase. Anyone know if this is normal? Thanks!

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry I can't be of help. Don't know much if anything about the product. We do have a few members that feed them regularly so they will probably post to your thread.

[gibble888]

Pics please....i use sallys silversides all the time so i may be able to compare for you.

[GarterSnake]

Pics, one with the tennis ball for scale:
084.jpg085.jpg086.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

I'm guessing but it could just be a variation within the species.

[jwolfe152]

To me it looks like the same thing you see in bait like that. It could just be from process they use to prepare the fish for packaging i wouldn't worry unless someone knows for sure that something is wrong with the fish. Either its from the preparation or as Steve said variation in species, garters are not the only thing with variations in looks j/k lol

[GarterSnake]

So I should just go ahead and feed him?

He is pouting because I didn't feed him this week because of this.

[ConcinusMan]

Probably won't hurt to use them but those are severely degraded. Looks to me like they were freezer burned and/or thawed and refroze. Petco is notorious for that. Stuff in their freezer section often has been thawed and refroze, sometimes several times, usually due to local power outages. They don't bother throwing the stuff away they let it refreeze and sell it anyway. Check the pinkies in that freezer. Feel through the package and you can tell if they've been thawed because when they refreeze they get flat sides to them.

When you buy them, Sally's (or any silversides) should look as fresh and firm as they were when they were alive. You can see through the package before you even buy them if they don't look fresh don't buy them or talk to the manager and point out their poor condition. They'll usually discount them of you say something. For garters it wouldn't really matter if they thawed long enough to actually spoil. They're still safe and won't hurt your garters. Are you sure those are sally's? I never buy the Ocean Nutrition brand because they don't pack them in water and if the package loses it's vacuum they get exposed to air and dry up/freezer burn. That brand always looks like **** compared to the Sally's.

Those look terrible They look like the Ocean Nutrition brand always looks. The sally's are usually bright and very fresh looking which is why I buy the Sally's. That orange-yellow color is freezer burn, not to mention it also appears they were thawed and refroze.

But since you already have them it's OK to use them. Garters could happily eat rotten or freezer burned fish and it won't hurt them. Just don't buy them if they don't look fresh from now on, or ask manager for a price break.

[gibble888]

Those look pretty crappy...mine look fresh frozen but its still garter food as long as they dont mind.