How long do you thaw your F/T rodents? Exploding rats?

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Originally Posted by J&A exotics

I thaw in warm water for like 30 min then change it out for hotter water around 110 i let sit there till warm if water drops below 100 before warm i change out again. I use a bag but if the get wet not a problem because i blast them with a hair dryer just before feeding.

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Very similar method. The hot water comes out around 110-115F. I only have 1 snake and he's eating smalls now.
I use a zip-lock bag in a disposable cup and the tongs to hold it down. Usually during the thaw (around 30 minutes) I'll open the bag, wave it in front of cage for the scent to inform my BP that dinner's on the way. Return to bag and immerse in water for final 10-15 minutes of heating. Remove from bag, check temp, dry off with paper towel and then dangle in front of hide (or the snake if he's already got his head out.)

I put them in a Ziploc bag and toss it in my utlity tub with hot water. Takes about 30 - 45 minutes depending on the size of the rats. Before I feed, I sit the rats on a tray and fan them with a hair dryer, focusing on the head.
The hot air really scents the room, and my snakes are waiting to be fed by the time I pull open their tubs.

I take mine out in the afternoon and leave them on the counter to thaw. Usually wrap them in a paper towel so absorb any moisture that's building up. By evening they're ready to go. I might blast them with the hairdryer a bit just to warm them a little.
I used to do the hot water thing but I hated how uneven the thawing was. I could never quite tell if the head was fully thawed yet. Now I never have to second guess.

Food in ziplocks, ziplocks in hot water for 2 or 3 hours.

At this point, the food is ready to use.

Sometimes, I will empty the water, refill with new hot water and let sit for 10 or 15 more mins then feed.

I thaw in the fridge overnight, take them out to warm up on the counter for a couple hours before feeding, for my snakes that want them hot I use a blow dryer.

I thaw at room temperature for a few hrs. I get home around 4:15 & take it out. About 3-3.5 hrs later, I check for softness. If th belly & head feel ok, I then put it in a bowl with hot tap water, weighted down (its in a plastic bag until feeding time). I change the water out every 15-30 mins, then one last time right before feeding to give it a heat signature. That's my method, works for me

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You don't even need to use water till there completely thawed.. Just like you do for dinner...if your cooking chicken that night you take it out and let it thaw in the morning so you can prepare it that night...that's the best way..when its feeding g day..I wake up take what I need out of the freezer..and let it thaw for a couple hours in a zip lock bag..then use some hot water to warm it up..doesn't have to be boiling hot... Just hot to the touch to warm them up for five mins or so...

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I put my frozen rats in the fridge the start thawing out the night before a feed. I'll then put the rats in a freezer type ziplock and thaw/ warm them in hot water for 45min-1 hour before feeding my snakes. They are fed late at night, just before I go to bed in order to not stress them. If something is found refused (rarely now) it's removed first thing in the morning.

I've had rats' tails come off with a strong feeder. I've also had a one batch of frozen rat weanlings that seemed to have popped easily, but never enough to leave my snakes covered in rat innards.


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I used to thaw Shesha's pinky rats in warm water from frozen when he was younger, but not that the rats are larger I prefer to move them from the fridge to the freezer to thaw in the morning. By 9 pm or so when I am ready to feed him they are thawed out and ready to warm. I just leave them in the ziploc bag and weigh them down with a pair of hemostats in a sink full of water as hot as the tap runs. I usually drain the water 2-3 times and refill (about every 10 minutes or so). If water gets in the bag I dry them with paper towel and then blast them with a hair dryer. I do like to heat a cup of water for a minute in the microwave and dip the rat's head in the hot water for about 7 seconds to raise the heat signature of that area. Then out comes the blow dryer and into the tank goes the rat. I have had my guy for nearly 10 months and haven't had any problems with exploding rats yet *fingers crossed*. I agree that a wet rat can give them added hydration, but since I use loose eco-earth bedding it makes a huge mud pie rat when it gets dragged around the floor of the tank if it is at all wet. :rolleyes:

Rats go in a ziplock bag in the warm to hot water. I doubt if I've ever had one take more than 30 minutes.

Bunnies are another story. I put them in the fridge the night before, then they go in warm to hot water for quite awhile the day of feeding.