New to Bp

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

Hi, I'm very new to snakes in general, and my g/f just recently bought a nice 4' male. i'm not sure if this is the right section, but it has to do with feeding, so i thought it might be. I just wanted to know how to tell when the f/t rat is fully thawed. i've done a quick search but found nothing. Can anyone tell me?
thanks in advance
-Kuro

[steveboos]

Pick up the rat, squeeze it gently on the sides of the torso and if it feels warm and mushy, your good to go. Also afterwards taking a hair dryer to the rat and head especially to warm it even more for even better results.

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

thank you for your fast reply. would i need to heat it with the hairdryer if I'm thawing it in hot water? its been in there since 11:30

[kc261]

I notice 2 places that are usually the last to stop feeling cool when I am thawing mice. First is their head, and second is their stomach area right at the bottom of their rib cage, when I squeeze them just slightly to try to feel actually under the ribcage a little. If both of those areas feel warm, I consider the mouse to be totally thawed.

Then I use a hair dryer, aimed mostly at the head, to give it a quick shot of heat. I try to get the entire mouse to feel about the body temperature of a live mouse (a few degrees above human body temperature) and the head of the mouse to feel a few degrees warmer than that. It is normal for the head to be the warmest part of the body, anyway, and the extra heat helps the snake find the head.

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

thank you both for your help, we successfully fed him about an hour ago.