How long is it safe to thaw a rat for?

I wasn't sure how to state my title. Basically I'm wondering how long can you safely thaw a rat for before it is no longer safe to feed? I'm currently feeding my BP small rats and I generally set them out for a few hours, make sure they're thawed and feed her, but occasionally I have forgotten them (because I get busy with kids or what not) and they sit out for much long. I understand that summer time is different because of the heat, but here in Wisconsin, it isn't that warm yet.

Also, if I put a rat that has sat out too long into her cage will she just eat it or know its bad by smell?

Thanks for any advice.

I'm not sure there is an exact time limit to leave a rat out, but more of a personal opinion. Define a little longer? I think if you usually do 3 and you accidentally did 5...it's not a big deal. Possibly even overnight (probably not ideal, but probably not unsafe either). I thaw completely differently, so I don't really worry about this. I usually take the rats I need out of the freezer and put them in the fridge overnight, then about 20 minutes before feeding I put them in hot water.

A bp will know the difference between a "good" rat and a "bad" rat, unless of course it's a garbage disposal like my normal, he'll eat anything. I've had a rat that I thaw out and every single one of my bps refuse and it looks normal, but it's probably bad somehow so they definitely know the difference.

My male is eating small F/T rats, and it takes them pretty long to thaw. If it's the weekend, I'll take the rat out the night before and just sit it in the snake room, and feed it off the next morning, otherwise I'll thaw it in the fridge overnight if it's during the week (I go to school and such during the day) and then when I get home I take it out and sit it in the snake room for maybe two hours or so just to warm it up a little.

If it is visibly rotting, I wouldn't feed it, but I wouldn't worry about it staying out too long if it was just a matter of hours because ball pythons will eat carrion in the wild, so they've got some tough little stomachs. If the rat is too far gone even for the snake, then they'll refuse to eat it. Simple as that. :)

I usually take my rats out of the freezer at 4:30 am (when I leave for work) and I don't feed until 9 at night....I actually leave the tray of rats in my incubator (when there are no clutches in there of course) and they are 89 degrees when I feed...all is well!

Just a noob question...why not just take it out of the freezer and put it in warm water 20-30 mins before hand and call it good??

The only reason I don't use water for the primary method of thawing is I want to make sure the rat is fully thawed. It is most likely just me being over cautious, but it also leads to me forgetting and leaving the rat out longer than I intended.

I rarely forget to feed her once I take a rat out, yesterday was only the 2nd time I have forgotten and left a rat out over night. I erred on the side of caution and threw the rat out instead of risking it and feeding it to her.

The rat wasn't rotting or anything, I just wasn't sure if I should feed her something that had sat out for around 14 hours or so. I tend to assume that she wouldn't eat something that was bad, but I don't know, and I don't know what affect it would have on her.

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Originally Posted by BigJ

Just a noob question...why not just take it out of the freezer and put it in warm water 20-30 mins before hand and call it good??

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Because thawing it too quickly will make it go boom :)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Because thawing it too quickly will make it go boom :)

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Clarification please!! :confused:

They will explode when the snake strikes and you'll have blood and guts all over the enclosure and snake lol.

haha...they will explode usually out the backend...either in the hot water or with a little help from your snake....