About thawing and the rodents

I thaw in warm water, which cools down as the f/t thaws. I let it sit for 15 minutes or so, but either way I'll check that the rodent isn't still cold at the core before removing.

After it's ready, I dry it off thoroughly in a paper towel. Then I warm the whole thing up to about 92-98 degrees (with the warmest point being the head) with a heat lamp, directly over the tank. At that point, my snake is out and waiting. I check the temps with my temp gun, then give it to him. He usually meets me half way. Doesn't have any patience. :rolleyes:

I found a pretty easy way to get the rat to the right temp safely and with minimal amount of effort. I take a rat out of the freezer and put it in a tupperware in the fridge the day before feeding, so it thaws without me having to supervise it at all. I can take it out the next day or the day after that whenever I see him poke his head out.

I then just put the tupperware with the rat on top of the mesh and let it sit to warm up, maybe 20-30 min tops (toffee goes crazy looking for it, the smell puts him into feeding mode) and then go over it with a hair dryer and present it with tongs - I don't think he's missed a single feeding yet since I've used this method, with the exception of when he dropped the rat in his water dish after grabbing it.

I've checked the rat with a temp gun before running the hair dryer over it and it's about room temp by that point, no cold bellies.