Trying F/T.

[gozetec02]

OK, Since Jojo didnt eat on sunday i decided to give it a try at night time. I am thawing out the small rat that i whacked. I have it in a bowl of hot tap water. The rodent is still in the ziploc bag that i froze him in. How long does it generaly take to defrost a small rat? Oh his mouth sore closed up completely and is looking awsome and his eyes cleared up.

[elevatethis]

The rat will probably take about an hour, and you'll most likely have to change the water once or twice. Just make sure it is completely thawed. Rats tend to have larger heads than mice, thus making it harder to tell if its completely thawed. Patience is key, its better safe than sorry.

[gozetec02]

I thought about puting it in a pot of hot water and puting the burner on warm. This heats the water to about 105. Is that ok?

[gozetec02]

Woohoo he did it. It took him a little while to figure out what the game was but when i got discouraged and looked away he hit it. I defrosted the rat for about an hour changing the water every 10 minutes. When i took the rat out it felt warm to the touch and was very life like and there wasnt a cold spot on him. I hope i did it right. If i expect to have more ball pythons i am going to have to find a cheaper way to buy feeders. Maybe frozen feeders is the key. I know that i can get 3 small rats by mice on ice for about 3 bux. I pay 2.15 for one feeder rat.

[elevatethis]

as far as cost effectiveness, safety, and cleanliness- frozen rodents are hands down the only way to go.

But I really think heat is the key to getting snakes to take thawed feeders. They don't really use their vision to hone in on prey items (they are nocturnal) and sensing heat is their primary indicator of where to strike.

[gozetec02]

Well the only reason i fed frozen this time is because sunday jojo refused to eat that rat but tonight was a different story. I can get feeders pretty easy where i live the reptile shop is about 5 minutes away also. Its just a pain to have to go to the store every week.

[Cody]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to take a trip up to Windsor Ontario every once in a while to buy mice when I get my bp. And that's probably more than an hour drive. But it's worth it. No way am I paying the prices the guy charges for mice at the local shop in town. My friend went there to get an adult mouse for his bp. He handed the guy a 5, and only got 2 bucks back. Seems a bit pricey. :?

[Marla]

Damien, congrats! That's great. Looks like you made the switch smoothly, and I'm glad to hear the sore is healing well.

Cody, that does seem expensive, even for Canadian prices. Oftentimes, you can buy feeder rodents at reptile shows pretty inexpensively, so if you have any shows coming close to you, you might want to check them out.