My new favorite way to thaw out f/t!!!

I decide to try an experiment. I usually would thaw out my mice in a bag in some water. It would usually take 25 minutes or so, but was always a mess. I thought that the next time I fed I would try out one of the many different techniques out there. I think I found one I'm going to stick with! I decided to lay out some paper towels on a counter top and just let the mice and rats sit out to thaw. I took just a little over 90 minutes. I would hold them under a heat lamp before offering them just to help entice my snakes. The clean up was so easy! No wet or soggy mice, and no rodent smell in my snake tubs. I have to promote this super easy way to thaw out rodents for everyone out there who feeds f/t. I encourage everyone to try it at least once.

Yep, I just set mine out to thaw on paper towels, also. Fair warning, though, small rats take 3-4 hours to fully reach room temperature. That's still better than rat soup, IMO.

You're going to get a ton of bacteria growth doing it that way, which may or may not someday affect your snake. You wouldn't eat a steak that had been sitting out for hours (and if you would, you'd be camped out in the bathroom for quite a while afterward), so why would one do that to their pet?

Ideally, you should put the frodent in the fridge the night before to thaw, then when you're ready to feed you could take it out and let it sit under the lamp for a few minutes to warm it up, if you don't want to deal with water.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sita

You're going to get a ton of bacteria growth doing it that way, which may or may not someday affect your snake. You wouldn't eat a steak that had been sitting out for hours (and if you would, you'd be camped out in the bathroom for quite a while afterward), so why would one do that to their pet?

Ideally, you should put the frodent in the fridge the night before to thaw, then when you're ready to feed you could take it out and let it sit under the lamp for a few minutes to warm it up, if you don't want to deal with water.

---

Actually if you want to get technical a steak will have to sit out a few hours in order to properly thaw out. You could also just put whatever in the fridge overnight and it'll be defrosted by the next morning.

I put my f/t stuff in a ziploc bag and soak in 3 diff hot water changes, as hot as it'll come from the sink(114ish). Then I'll dump them all in a sterilite container and take one out at a time and rub around in a paper towel to dry. I don't have a mess to clean up after or anything. Though I'm thinking about maybe trying a hair dryer to heat them up a tad more after.

I don't know if "frodent" was intentional or not....but it made me laugh...

Is there an issue with simply running a frodent under warm water to defrost it?

Quote:

---

I don't know if "frodent" was intentional or not....but it made me laugh...

---

It was, :) I came across that term somewhere on the vast internets and loved it.

Quote:

---

Is there an issue with simply running a frodent under warm water to defrost it?

---

You could as long as it's done within a reasonable amount of time. I base all my info on the fact that it is a meat product, and you should treat it the same way you treat human food. Yes, I realize that these are animals and may be adapted to eating "less than fresh" food in the wild, but why risk it? No one knows the facts in regards to wild snakes eating carrion and dying (or not dying) from it.

I actually prefer the rat soup. I've never had issues with smell or cleaning up. For me it's easy, just dump the water down the sink when I'm done and throw the bowls into the dishwasher. I don't let the rats drip on the floor and the snakes don't mind it dripping in their tub.
I like the idea of the rats being wet, a little added hydration for the snakes. Even though they always have fresh water, I just like the idea that no matter what they're getting hydration.

I just make my mouse tea with sandwich bags. Voila, no more disgusting soggy frodents! And I cheat and use my keurig for the hot water lol

Um... I baggy my mice and place them near my Xbox/DVR which is warm to the touch for awhile. Its not quick but it seems to get the job done if I rotate it. Anything wrong with that? I think I've overheated once or twice but never fed it to my snake.