Refrigerated Greens Left Out on Accident

This has always been a general inquiry of mine, as I have a bad tendency to forget to put my darn veggies back in the fridge sometimes, after prepping them for my dragon and for crickets. I tried Google searching this, and I wasn't getting many helpful articles based on this particular inquiry.

Smaug's staples are usually Turnip Greens, Mustard Greens and Green Beans. I keep them refrigerated of course, in zip lock bags, with paper towel inserts to help with moisture control. They will usually keep for a good 5-7 days before I buy fresh greens. I usually toss after this period if anything smells "off" or there's significant wilting.

Let's play out the scenario: I take out the refrigerated greens, prep and place into the enclosures. I leave for work, forgetting to put them back in the fridge (home temp is usually 74-75 degrees). My girlfriend sees that I left them out, 2 hours later. Are they still good?

Part of me feels like they'd be fine technically. The reason I'm thinking so is that Smaug wakes up as soon as her lights come on at 8 AM. We place her greens in during this time, and she can go many hours before she decides to start eating (monitored eating behavior on the weekends). In fact, it seems that she prefers the greens to soften in the heat before eating. I've never seen her dash right for her salad when it's still moist and cold. I also remove any uneaten greens from her enclosure and the cricket enclosure by the time I come home, which is usually around 11-12 hours later.

Any community thoughts on this? While greens are inexpensive, I HATE being wasteful. However, I also don't want to do anything to risk the health of my dragon.

Unless they have been in direct sunlight and it's been scorching hot .... they are fine. You could eat them !!

Heck as kid I remember taking packed lunches to school (often meat and salad sandwiches) which were simply wrapped in greaseproof paper and a brown paper bag and placed in a plastic lunch box , even in the heat of summer !!! and kept in my school bag (a port those days) until lunchtime at 12noon , and I'd be eating them (4 hours after mom packed them) , no refrigeration used , perfectly fine .

If in doubt - feed them to the feeder insects , wont hurt Smaug to go a day without fresh salad.

I agree. They aren't likely to go bad, especially if you have them packed that way in the ziploc with paper towel. I can often keep greens fresh for several weeks that way. If they start to wilt or turn brown just give them to the bugs as suggested. They aren't likely to cause illness it's just a freshness issue.

Thanks for the responses guys!