diff --git a/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/config_settings.md b/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/config_settings.md
index 90d71fb95c8..90045755e9c 100644
--- a/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/config_settings.md
+++ b/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/config_settings.md
@@ -934,6 +934,9 @@ router_settings:
 | PROXY_BASE_URL | Base URL for proxy service
 | PROXY_BATCH_WRITE_AT | Time in seconds to wait before batch writing spend logs to the database. Default is 10
 | PROXY_BATCH_POLLING_INTERVAL | Time in seconds to wait before polling a batch, to check if it's completed. Default is 6000s (1 hour)
+| PROXY_BATCH_POLLING_ENABLED | Set to `false` to disable the `CheckBatchCost` and `CheckResponsesCost` background polling jobs entirely. Useful for emergency mitigation on installs with large numbers of stale managed objects. Default is `true`
+| MAX_OBJECTS_PER_POLL_CYCLE | Maximum number of managed objects (batches / responses) fetched per polling cycle. Prevents OOM on installs with many stale rows. Default is `50`
+| MANAGED_OBJECT_STALENESS_CUTOFF_DAYS | Managed objects older than this many days in a non-terminal state are marked `stale_expired` at the start of each poll cycle and skipped. Default is `7`
 | PROXY_BUDGET_RESCHEDULER_MAX_TIME | Maximum time in seconds to wait before checking database for budget resets. Default is 605
 | PROXY_BUDGET_RESCHEDULER_MIN_TIME | Minimum time in seconds to wait before checking database for budget resets. Default is 597
 | PYTHON_GC_THRESHOLD | GC thresholds ('gen0,gen1,gen2', e.g. '1000,50,50'); defaults to Python’s values.
diff --git a/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_check_responses_cost.py b/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_check_responses_cost.py
index 3bcacdfc05d..bbffd6e0e75 100644
--- a/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_check_responses_cost.py
+++ b/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_check_responses_cost.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, Mock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
+from litellm.constants import MAX_OBJECTS_PER_POLL_CYCLE
 from litellm.types.llms.openai import ResponseAPIUsage, ResponsesAPIResponse
 
 
@@ -63,21 +64,45 @@ class TestCheckResponsesCost:
         self, check_responses_cost_instance, mock_prisma_client
     ):
         """Test check_responses_cost when there are no jobs to process"""
-        # Mock empty job list
+        mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.find_many = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[]
+        )
+        mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.update_many = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=0
+        )
+
+        await check_responses_cost_instance.check_responses_cost()
+
+        # Verify find_many was called with pagination params
+        find_many_call = mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.find_many.call_args
+        assert find_many_call[1]["where"] == {
+            "status": {"in": ["queued", "in_progress"]},
+            "file_purpose": "response",
+        }
+        assert find_many_call[1]["take"] == MAX_OBJECTS_PER_POLL_CYCLE
+        assert find_many_call[1]["order"] == {"created_at": "asc"}
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_cleanup_stale_managed_objects(
+        self, check_responses_cost_instance, mock_prisma_client
+    ):
+        """Stale rows (older than cutoff) are bulk-updated to stale_expired before polling."""
+        mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.update_many = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=5
+        )
         mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.find_many = AsyncMock(
             return_value=[]
         )
 
-        # Should not raise any errors
         await check_responses_cost_instance.check_responses_cost()
 
-        # Verify find_many was called with correct parameters
-        mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.find_many.assert_called_once_with(
-            where={
-                "status": {"in": ["queued", "in_progress"]},
-                "file_purpose": "response",
-            }
-        )
+        # The first update_many call should be the stale-row cleanup
+        calls = mock_prisma_client.db.litellm_managedobjecttable.update_many.call_args_list
+        stale_call = calls[0]
+        assert stale_call[1]["data"] == {"status": "stale_expired"}
+        where = stale_call[1]["where"]
+        assert "stale_expired" in where["status"]["not_in"]
+        assert "created_at" in where
 
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_check_responses_cost_with_completed_response(