Problem with f/t rat

I recently offered my snakes their first f/t rat. The hemostats I use cut right through the rat's tail. Also, once thawed the rat wasn't soft and meaty as I'm used to with f/t mice. Instead the rat was kind of stiff. My question is, I'm wondering if all of this is normal for f/t rats? Mine have been in the freezer about a year, and they don't smell like they've gone bad or anything.

Stiff as in how? The rat should be thoroughly thawed and warm; the belly should be completely squishy.

It sounds like it wasn't all the way thawed. How do you thaw your rats?

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Originally Posted by EarMice

Stiff as in how? The rat should be thoroughly thawed and warm; the belly should be completely squishy.

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The rat's joints seemed stiff, and the belly definitely wasn't squishy. It seemed as if it was dried out. I'm pretty sure it was thawed...

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Originally Posted by Mustang5

It sounds like it wasn't all the way thawed. How do you thaw your rats?

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I leave the prey item out for a couple few hours, depending on the prey size and the temperature of the room, until it no longer is cold or hard at all when squeezed. I then usually soak it in hot water from the tap for several minutes. However this time I tried using a blow dryer for the final warmup instead of hot water. I mainly want to know why the hemostats cut the tail off? Thanks guys...

From the tip of the tail to maybe (?) 2/3 down is just fleshy meat, no cartilage. Thus, it thaws first and I discovered as you have do that hemostats just clamp almost right through the tails.

What works for me is either switching to long tweezers so I don't clamp as hard, or move the hemostats much closer to the base of the tail.

Being close to the base is not a problem if you heat the head up to 95-100 degrees with hot water or hair dryer and check with a Temp Gun. This way the snake is less likely to strike high or even miss completely.
This also helps to ensure successful feeds as well.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...0d37e4b1dc.jpg

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Originally Posted by RoyaLoveRay

I leave the prey item out for a couple few hours, depending on the prey size and the temperature of the room, until it no longer is cold or hard at all when squeezed. I then usually soak it in hot water from the tap for several minutes. However this time I tried using a blow dryer for the final warmup instead of hot water. I mainly want to know why the hemostats cut the tail off? Thanks guys...

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It sounds like you are doing everything right. I agree with Reinz, make sure the temp is around 95 degrees

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Originally Posted by RoyaLoveRay

I recently offered my snakes their first f/t rat. The hemostats I use cut right through the rat's tail. Also, once thawed the rat wasn't soft and meaty as I'm used to with f/t mice. Instead the rat was kind of stiff. My question is, I'm wondering if all of this is normal for f/t rats? Mine have been in the freezer about a year, and they don't smell like they've gone bad or anything.

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Use the hemostats to pinch the rats skin right between his shoulder blades and offer that way...A year is a bit on the long end of what I'd keep in the freezer...maybe a little freezer burn going on?

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Originally Posted by sho220

Use the hemostats to pinch the rats skin right between his shoulder blades and offer that way.

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This. It's much easier to "zombie dance" the rat up to your snake at its own level instead of coming down from overhead, which also makes it more likely that a skittish eater will take the feeder.