F/T feeding....

What's the best way to thaw f/t mice? This will be our first time using frozen. Thanks

For anything small rat sized and smaller I just dunk them into a large bowl of warm water and refresh the water as needed until they are thawed and warmed all the way through.

For medium through jumbo rats and rabbits I thaw them for 24-48 hours in the refrigerator, then dunk them in the warm water.

I thaw my feeders inside ziploc bags in cold water first and then progressively warmer water. It usually takes me about 3 hours to thaw a medium rat. After they're completely thawed I super heat them to about 100F with a hair dryer before serving them to the snakes.

We use a ziploc, empty butter container, and warmer water. Takes about 45-1hr to thaw. Usually 1 water change. You want them to where you can squeeze the rat and its guts feel slightly warm.

Some people re-freeze if the snake refuses. We do not. Bacteria starts as soon as the rat hits the water to thaw. We also always feed in a seperate tub to prevent tank agression. Some folks do, some dont.

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Originally Posted by Kris Mclaughlin

We use a ziploc, empty butter container, and warmer water. Takes about 45-1hr to thaw. Usually 1 water change. You want them to where you can squeeze the rat and its guts feel slightly warm.

Some people re-freeze if the snake refuses. We do not. Bacteria starts as soon as the rat hits the water to thaw. We also always feed in a seperate tub to prevent tank agression. Some folks do, some dont.

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I have had my BP for 3 years, fed him in his enclosure since day 1, he has never once showed me a sign of aggression.

OP, I leave my BP to thaw for a couple of hours, then blast with a hairdryer.

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Originally Posted by SRMD

I have had my BP for 3 years, fed him in his enclosure since day 1, he has never once showed me a sign of aggression.

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Awsome! Like i stated some folks do. Some dont. We clean up/prune the tank and do our soil moisture and ph(planted viv) while feeding. When our bp picks up on food, its go time lmao. Sometimes its risky gettng it out of the feeding tub without getting nabbed. When we got the snake years ago it was neglected to be very very nice, and ended a friendship. He would lunge at anything that moved. So the habit stuck i suppose.

Tank/enclosure aggression due to feeding in the snake's home is a myth. You're more likely to get bitten by moving a snake that is still in feeding mode - and my retics can stay foody for 24 hours after eating.

I feed rat-crawlers to Louie! the night before I just stick the rat in the fridge then when I get home in the evening the next day I just take it out of it's little ziploc and warm it in front of a lil space heater. He wouldn't take the rats so willingly after they were warmed in water and a user on here recommended using a hair blow dryer but since I don't have one I just put it on a dish infront of the space heater and Louie slams them everytime now! I tried a water warmed one a few times after and he bit it then dropped it and then when I returned it to warm in front of the space heater, he gobbled it up!! So interesting.. But yee that's how I warm up dinner for him! Works every time.