thawing your f/t

I have a plastic container put them in cold water for about an hour then drain that put hot water in let it sit for 20 min and serve em up

I prefer feeding freshly killed rodents rather than dealing with frozen but I do usually end up with a few feeders that go uneaten and are put in the freezer. Those I thaw out either in cool water and then dry them off with a hairdryer or I let them thaw out on top of a cage with a heatlamp nearby to keep them warm but not cooked.

As for soggy feeders... My colubrids don't seem to care but many of my pythons act disinterested in wet feeders. I have to blow dry them with a hairdryer to get any response from them.

Really prefer to forego all the hassle of thawing out and tweaking their foods just so they'll accept them. F/k just works better for me.

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Originally Posted by mrmertz

Let me get this straight...the dog(s) - not a cat, would take a mouse and then carry it off to your bed?!

Wow. What would REALLY freak me out is if the dog carried the mouse off to the bed and when I got home I found candles lit and soft music playing! :D

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Correct! And let's not forget the extra-yummy fact that it was a DEAD mouse!

OK last night was Odin first feeding in new place (my place). Breeder with i bought him said that he eat everything what You put on front of him so i decided try F/T in the first time in my life. I drop small/medium rat to a bowl with warm water wait for a 30 min and after that drop in empty tub in hot spot for like and hour. Odin don't even move all this time... after that i took rat with hemostat and blow some air with hair dryer into went holes. I see reaction right away... He get so ready that after few seconds of rat dangling he slam it without any hesitation. And he aim in the head, heated by hairdryer so i see now a reason to do it (give him aiming hot spot) I'm happy that everything go so easy so thanks for great post and all Your opinions guys. :D

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

I put mine in a shoebox tub over a human heating pad. They get really hot!

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I'm totally going to try this!

I simply soak mine in hot water (replaced once halfway through) for about 30 min., then hold the heads under the running hot water to focus heat them as well as to rinse off any excess blood or other mess on the rat. A quick pat dry to prevent dripping water, then dangle into the cage. :) My two remaining snakes are eager feeders, especially Ari's corn Freya, and have never minded wet food. :)

I've tried several other methods (never direct heat like pads or cooking appliances of course), and the hot water works best for me and the snakes. :D

leave for one hour to reach room temp, then i use a blow-dryer and the blow dry the rodent.

... so I was advocating the thawing under water method back when I made this poll, but I've since switched back to leaving the rodents out for a couple hours, then warming their noses under a heat lamp. I find the smell of the thawing/warming rodent does a lot to stimulate appetite in the so-so feeders. The running water washes most of that delicious rodent-y smell away.

I do still use the water to thaw if I run out of rats and still have hungry snakes. Because water thawing is fast. But then I usually have to spend some extra time convincing the snakes that yes, this is REALLY IS another rat, even if it doesn't smell as strongly.

Hot water. Never had a problem feeding f/t :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gyYLSrb-Bw&feature=plcp

I take 5 rodents (various sizes) and put them in a small plastic box. I then fill it with VERY hot tap water. Largest one's thawed in 10-15 minutes. They don't "cook" from the hot water, as the rodents act as rodent-cicles and cool the water down, as quickly as the very hot water begins to thaw them.

I let drip off a bit before tossing them in tubs, and 85% of the time all 5, could care less how wet they are.

From my perspective the plastic bag and blow dryer routines as too involved. IMHO