Frozen/thawed help?

Hello, need a bit of advice/suggestions here...

I have a Mojave BP, have always fed her live, and I have NEVER had her refuse a meal. She's always been a complete monster when it comes to feeding! However, the problem is I am going to be moving soon. I have looked everywhere and can't find any nearby reptile stores that sell live rats over there (the closest being aprox 40minutes away). That being the case, I am basically forced to switch to frozen/thawed. I have always fed her using tongs in case I had to switch to frozen at some point. I have been trying to feed her f/t for about 3 or 4 weeks now. The first two times I tried, I wobbled the rat around like they normally would do if they were live, she took them right away. However, both times after taking the thawed rats, she took an extra long time to finally eat them, about an hour and 1/2. Way longer then she normally would have. After those first two times, she has never ate for me again. I know she still wants to eat because when I begin the normal feeding routine, I can tell she gets excited. When I dangle the rat and wiggle it as I always have she slowly creeps up to it in her normal striking position. When she gets around to where she would normally strike, she suddenly relaxes, starts smelling the rat, does a slow disappointed U-turn, and then all interest is gone. I have tried dangling the rat, pulling it around the ground as if it was walking, cutting the head open and revealing the brain, and leaving the rat in the cage for a half an hour to an hour. She never eats it...
I'll be moving shortly after New Years, can someone help!?

as odd as it may sound it may simply just be the temp of the rat I had a heck of a time figuring out just the right way to bring the body heat up with out cooking the food in the process when learning to feed f/t and the trick I have found is to thaw it completely at room temperature for at least 2-5 hours depending on size once it is completely thawed to room temp thoroughly then hit it with a blow dryer for like 20 -30 sec then offer it usually the temp is high enough externally to keep them interested and not so high that you start to cook it.
Time well you could always thing of it this way with it pre killed it can sit down to a nice big meal and takes its time consuming every drop cause it doesn't fight back :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lX V1P3R Xl

Hello, need a bit of advice/suggestions here...

I have a Mojave BP, have always fed her live, and I have NEVER had her refuse a meal. She's always been a complete monster when it comes to feeding! However, the problem is I am going to be moving soon. I have looked everywhere and can't find any nearby reptile stores that sell live rats over there (the closest being aprox 40minutes away). That being the case, I am basically forced to switch to frozen/thawed. I have always fed her using tongs in case I had to switch to frozen at some point. I have been trying to feed her f/t for about 3 or 4 weeks now. The first two times I tried, I wobbled the rat around like they normally would do if they were live, she took them right away. However, both times after taking the thawed rats, she took an extra long time to finally eat them, about an hour and 1/2. Way longer then she normally would have. After those first two times, she has never ate for me again. I know she still wants to eat because when I begin the normal feeding routine, I can tell she gets excited. When I dangle the rat and wiggle it as I always have she slowly creeps up to it in her normal striking position. When she gets around to where she would normally strike, she suddenly relaxes, starts smelling the rat, does a slow disappointed U-turn, and then all interest is gone. I have tried dangling the rat, pulling it around the ground as if it was walking, cutting the head open and revealing the brain, and leaving the rat in the cage for a half an hour to an hour. She never eats it...
I'll be moving shortly after New Years, can someone help!?

---

First of all, it's definitely NOT recommended to use feeding tongs when feeding live. It can stress the rat out, etc.

I thaw my feeders, then warm them up I'm hot water (in a baggy of course). I have one girl who will occasionally strike off the tongs, or I'll just leave the rat in with her over night and check in the morning. It's usually gone.

How big is your Bp and the meals you are givin her?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bobbafett

First of all, it's definitely NOT recommended to use feeding tongs when feeding live. It can stress the rat out, etc.

I thaw my feeders, then warm them up I'm hot water (in a baggy of course). I have one girl who will occasionally strike off the tongs, or I'll just leave the rat in with her over night and check in the morning. It's usually gone.

How big is your Bp and the meals you are givin her?

---

Really? I was told it was best to feed them no matter what on tongs so the BP gets used to it. Oh well, doesn't matter anymore anyway haha. My BP is just under 700g and I am feeding her rat smalls. I actually thought about thawing the rats in the baggy right before I read your reply haha. So far, I have always had them in the water soaking then dried them off directly before dangling them. Like I said, she's taking rat smalls right now, so how long should I leave the rats out to thaw in room temperature before I put them in the water?.

This is from one of the f/t information guides I came across hope it helps.

Thawing times.

Mice, Dwarf Hamsters, Gerbils:
Pinkies - smalls 1 hr thawing time.
Mediums - larges 2 hrs thawing time.

Rats, Guinea Pigs:
Pinkies - fuzzies 1 hr thawing time.
Pups - smalls 2 hrs thawing time.
Mediums - 4 hrs thawing time.
Larges - 4-6 hrs thawing time.

Rabbits, Pigs:
Pinkies - fuzzies 2 hrs thawing time (0.1 – 0.5 lbs).
Hoppers - 4 hrs thawing time (0.5 – 1.0 lbs).
Smalls - 6 hrs thawing time (1.0 – 2.0 lbs).
Mediums - 8 hrs thawing time (2.0 – 5.0 lbs).

The above time estimations are based on removing the prey from the freezer and immediately placing it at room temperature (72 f).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dark Lady Kat

This is from one of the f/t information guides I came across hope it helps.

Thawing times.

Mice, Dwarf Hamsters, Gerbils:
Pinkies - smalls 1 hr thawing time.
Mediums - larges 2 hrs thawing time.

Rats, Guinea Pigs:
Pinkies - fuzzies 1 hr thawing time.
Pups - smalls 2 hrs thawing time.
Mediums - 4 hrs thawing time.
Larges - 4-6 hrs thawing time.

Rabbits, Pigs:
Pinkies - fuzzies 2 hrs thawing time (0.1 – 0.5 lbs).
Hoppers - 4 hrs thawing time (0.5 – 1.0 lbs).
Smalls - 6 hrs thawing time (1.0 – 2.0 lbs).
Mediums - 8 hrs thawing time (2.0 – 5.0 lbs).

The above time estimations are based on removing the prey from the freezer and immediately placing it at room temperature (72 f).

---

Thanks! I'll give it a try