How to know if you've overheated a prey item?

[iddah]

Hey guys, I hope this question isn't too dumb lol; but I was wondering how do you know if you've potentially overheated your f/t? Solidus has had four consecutive feedings now and everything has gone smoothly, he's got a great feeding response and is growing fast, I just fed him however and before I offered him his rat fuzzy I noticed the rat was /extremely/ soft and "squishy" and was bleeding from the mouth slightly after thawing it. Solidus struck and coiled and the rat did not explode or anything, but some more blood came out of its mouth, which makes me wonder if I possibly overheated the rat. I thaw his f/ts directly in hot water and let them soak until they feel thawed, this time I just feel I either used water that was a bit too hot, or left the rat in the hot water for too long - - I made a quick run to get groceries while the rat was thawing, I was gone about 15 minutes more than the usual time I left the fuzzies thaw.

I've heard and read about the trauma that is exploding rats lol, and I want to avoid that from happening, but yeah, what are the signs of an overheated rat??? A bit of blood doesn't bother me and I doubt it bothers my boy, either, considering there is blood involved in the wild as well sometimes, but I'm mostly worried about an exploding prey item. Was the blood/squishiness just the quality of the rat, or did I accidentally heat/thaw it too much? The three other fuzzies I've offered him were nowhere near as soft or squishy as the ones I have in stock in the freezer rn.

And before anyone asks; the water I use is hot but definitely not /boiling/ lol.

Thanks in advance for any comments/help.

[tttaylorrr]

first off: congrats on the successful feedings!!! i was going to comment in your older post for an update since we hadn't heard from you!

if you're sure the water isn't too hot, i don't think you can "overheat" a f/t feeder with warm water alone. you can definitely warm it too quickly, which can cause them to burst during constriction.

to the best of my knowledge, the temperature of the water or how fast the feeder thaws doesn't affect the nose bleeds. f/t feeders bleed from the nose/mouth because, when frozen, the capillaries and blood vessels (whatever the stuff is that holds blood) are weakened. when the feeder is thawed, the weakened vessels can't hold the blood in anymore and it gets out through the path of least resistance.

i'm not sure about the "squishy-ness." i think it just happens sometimes. i thawed two small rats yesterday and one was much more limp/dangly than the other.

[ckuhn003]

Interesting topic because I've always wondered how long to use the hairdryer for. I've never wanted to go longer then 10-20 seconds for fear of the 'explosion' but I could be way off here. For the record, my BP has never eaten in front of me so a hairdryer may not even be needed. I've also been letting the F/T thaw out in the Fridge overnight or at room temp a couple hours before feeding. I've never once used water in my thawing process.

[Newbie39]

Hey guys, I hope this question isn't too dumb lol; but I was wondering how do you know if you've potentially overheated your f/t? Solidus has had four consecutive feedings now and everything has gone smoothly, he's got a great feeding response and is growing fast, I just fed him however and before I offered him his rat fuzzy I noticed the rat was /extremely/ soft and "squishy" and was bleeding from the mouth slightly after thawing it. Solidus struck and coiled and the rat did not explode or anything, but some more blood came out of its mouth, which makes me wonder if I possibly overheated the rat. I thaw his f/ts directly in hot water and let them soak until they feel thawed, this time I just feel I either used water that was a bit too hot, or left the rat in the hot water for too long - - I made a quick run to get groceries while the rat was thawing, I was gone about 15 minutes more than the usual time I left the fuzzies thaw.

I've heard and read about the trauma that is exploding rats lol, and I want to avoid that from happening, but yeah, what are the signs of an overheated rat??? A bit of blood doesn't bother me and I doubt it bothers my boy, either, considering there is blood involved in the wild as well sometimes, but I'm mostly worried about an exploding prey item. Was the blood/squishiness just the quality of the rat, or did I accidentally heat/thaw it too much? The three other fuzzies I've offered him were nowhere near as soft or squishy as the ones I have in stock in the freezer rn.

And before anyone asks; the water I use is hot but definitely not /boiling/ lol.

Thanks in advance for any comments/help.

My rat was bleeding yesterday. I think it just defrosted faster than normal. It didn't explode either. But she eats pretty good and didn't mind the blood at all. I hear it's pretty common. I was worried a bit as well. But thankfully this place can calm you down pretty quick.

[zina10]

Been feeding F/T for many years.

I use the "water" method. However, I don't use HOT water right away.

I put them into COLD water to defrost. Usually I do that mid day/early afternoon if I want to feed that night.

Once they are defrosted in the cold water (safer that way) and I'm getting ready to feed, I drain the cold water and add HOT water. Hot, not boiling. I wait 10 minutes, drain that water and add hot water once again. Wait another 10 minutes and feed.

If I have LARGE food items like medium rats (or bigger) I add a third cycle of draining and adding hot water for 10 minutes.


I have a few cheap/square/white cotton towels who are used only for drying the rats. I put the rats into that towel, roll it up, and by the time I carry it into the rodent room the rats are sufficiently dry and still nice and hot. Those towels are washed separate, on short cycle.

Certainly better then going through countless paper towels. I got that idea from someone on this forum, years ago. At first I thought..ewwww. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Works very well.

Putting the frozen rodent into HOT water weakens the cell structure even more, and you run the risk of a feeder that is mushy, or hot on the outside while cold on the inside (or even frozen still)

[Newbie39]

Been feeding F/T for many years.

I use the "water" method. However, I don't use HOT water right away.

I put them into COLD water to defrost. Usually I do that mid day/early afternoon if I want to feed that night.

Once they are defrosted in the cold water (safer that way) and I'm getting ready to feed, I drain the cold water and add HOT water. Hot, not boiling. I wait 10 minutes, drain that water and add hot water once again. Wait another 10 minutes and feed.

If I have LARGE food items like medium rats (or bigger) I add a third cycle of draining and adding hot water for 10 minutes.


I have a few cheap/square/white cotton towels who are used only for drying the rats. I put the rats into that towel, roll it up, and by the time I carry it into the rodent room the rats are sufficiently dry and still nice and hot. Those towels are washed separate, on short cycle.

Certainly better then going through countless paper towels. I got that idea from someone on this forum, years ago. At first I thought..ewwww. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Works very well.

Putting the frozen rodent into HOT water weakens the cell structure even more, and you run the risk of a feeder that is mushy, or hot on the outside while cold on the inside (or even frozen still)

It's a great method. I use the same. Plus she eats the rat wet. I don't even need to dry it.

[tttaylorrr]

I use the "water" method. However, I don't use HOT water right away.
I put them into COLD water to defrost.

Putting the frozen rodent into HOT water weakens the cell structure even more, and you run the risk of a feeder that is mushy, or hot on the outside while cold on the inside (or even frozen still)

this is something i forgot to mention that is definitely important. do not use hot water right away, start with cooler water then replace with warm water.

[iddah]

first off: congrats on the successful feedings!!! i was going to comment in your older post for an update since we hadn't heard from you!

Thanks!!! After he's done digesting this meal, I'll take new pics of him so you guys can see how much bigger he's gotten, I can barely call him "noodle" anymore lol.

Putting the frozen rodent into HOT water weakens the cell structure even more, and you run the risk of a feeder that is mushy, or hot on the outside while cold on the inside (or even frozen still)

Yeah, the feeder I offered him earlier was extremely mushy and squishy. Each time I log onto my account here I learn something new/useful, thank you so much. I've been putting my f/t's pretty much right away in hot water, so I guess it's the softening cell structure that made it go so soft and squishy. I'm gonna defrost my feeders in a bit more lower temperature water from here on out.

Once again, thank you so much, everyone!!

[zina10]

It's a great method. I use the same. Plus she eats the rat wet. I don't even need to dry it.

Yes, mine are still somewhat "wet" too, just not dripping.

[Joci]

I personally let my f/t thaw at air temperature for two hours and then dip it briefly into hot water and then use the hairdryer. This way my snake can smell the mouse and get excited, and the mouse doesn't have to be all soggy when I offer it. This is just my method, other methods work as well