Can you defrost feeders in oven at 170F?

I put my rat in a ziplock bag in hot tap water and somehow water got into the bag and got my rat soggy. So I now just put him into the oven at 170 degrees. I hope this isnt going to be bad for using him as a feeder. Does this also smell the house? I dont want dead rat smell all over the house either.

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Originally Posted by chrisdab

I put my rat in a ziplock bag in hot tap water and somehow water got into the bag and got my rat soggy. So I now just put him into the oven at 170 degrees. I hope this isnt going to be bad for using him as a feeder. Does this also smell the house? I dont want dead rat smell all over the house either.

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Well...I take my rodents out of the freezer first thing in the morning and let them defrost throughout the day. Once they are fully defrosted, I turn the oven on broil and them them heat up for a minute or two. It does a nice job without them getting soggy or overheating and exploding. So, the oven thing works, as weird as it is to bake rodents.

FYI, sometimes they will make the kitchen smell a little funky for a few minutes.

just make sure you dont cook the rat

Update: My snake wont eat it. He seems to be cuddling with the rat and kissing it, but not swallowing.

This is the first time I am feeding my snake, as I got him from a friend.

What do I do with the rat now? Just throw it out? Refreeze it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chrisdab

Update: My snake wont eat it. He seems to be cuddling with the rat and kissing it, but not swallowing.

This is the first time I am feeding my snake, as I got him from a friend.

What do I do with the rat now? Just throw it out? Refreeze it?

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I would not recommend refreezing it. If you have another snake, monitor, etc. Offer it to them. Otherwise, toss it; however, since it's f/t, I'd leave it in the cage with him overnight. You never know, he might eat it sometime in the night.

Did your friend specify if he was taking f/t or live? Mice or Rats? Did you allow him a week to acclimate? What temperatures are you keeping him at? Do you have two hides for him? What is his humidity? Please share information on how you are keeping him. :)

I came back and watched him feeding. That was pretty cool.

In the future, what is the best way to thaw frozen rats? I dont want to leave the feed out all day to spoil and ziplock bags in water can still get it water inside the bag.

There's a few different ways to thaw them. The 2 I use most often are...

Letting it sit out during the day
Placing the rat in a ziploc bag in warm water for 30mins (do it twice to be sure it's thawed)

The rat getting wet isn't that big of a deal. Just dry it off with a towel before feeding

I have a heat pad that I use to warm them up after they're thawed. Works quite nicely - although, it does get hot. I've had my experiences with explosions. not fun :colbert:

Let thaw for hours, then heating pad.

Exploding rats are terrible, as is the mess/time with FT. Makes me wish I fed more live, and I may do this as the collection grows.


JonV

rodents in the stove !!!!! crazy !! and freaking funnny !!! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: