thaw frozen mice and rats

I feed live but in wanting to switch to frozen. What is the best way to get the frozen rodents to eating temp. Thanks

Which I did, was let mine thaw out on the counter the previous evening, then put it into the fridge overnight. Then I put it on the counter to warm to room temp, then finished warming it with a blow dryer.

Put it in a ziploc bag full of warm water, for like half an hour or so.

i just drop the rat in a bowl of microwaved water thats about 120 degrees then just let it sit for 20 min then dry it- the snake dosent care if its wet

i ziplock that badboy thaw him in the fridge overnight. sick the ziplock in warm (not boiling) water and then sometimes ill blowdry it to get it warmer.

Take them out in the morning and they will be ready for dinner that night.
I leave them in the snake room in a tub all day and heat them up with a blow dryer before serving :)

all that sounds like too much work... blow drying??? Just use hot water and they will thaw in about 10 mins... and not have to sit out over night and have time to grow some nasty bacteria...

I just put mine in a ziploc (or keep them in the sealed bag if they're from Petco), and leave it in warm water for about 20 minutes... I only use a hairdryer if it gets really wet, or if the snake doesn't think it's warm enough. One time I heated it TOO much, though, and almost burned poor Pedro's lips. :( So make sure you check it before serving!

The problem with using hot water to dethaw is it can weaken the stomach wall, and it's rather nasty when the mouse decides to pop while the snake is eating it. Personal experience. Also, if you use too hot of water, it can start cooking the mouse.

I've read different methods about using hot water, including just putting the head in to let the heat rise up. I haven't used that method though.

I put them in plastic bags, and throw them in a bathtub full of hot water until they're nice and warm.

I've also used a heating pad--just put the bagged rats on it, and fold it over top of them. It takes longer, but the snakes seem to love the results. You have to have a heating pad without an automatic timed switch off.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cornball252

all that sounds like too much work... blow drying??? Just use hot water and they will thaw in about 10 mins... and not have to sit out over night and have time to grow some nasty bacteria...

---

I used to do it that way but a lot of the time when you thaw them too quickly they explode on impact. It is really gross and messy. It is also gross when you have a rodent juice spill. All I do now is leave them on top of my freezer in the morning and then put them under a lamp a few minutes before feeding. No water, no rodent bombs, no mess.

I have a container I use just to thaw out the rats. I run my faucet until the water gets very hot then fill it about half way with the rats in it. Leave it on the counter while I am doing something else. Then in about an hour if that they are thawed out. I dump that water(outside) and refill it with warm water to bring the temp of the rat back up. As I am feeding if a snake will not take the rat I feel its face and if it is to cold I will just hold it up to a light to warm it up again and BAM they take it. This is what works for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Repsrul

I have a container I use just to thaw out the rats. I run my faucet until the water gets very hot then fill it about half way with the rats in it. Leave it on the counter while I am doing something else. Then in about an hour if that they are thawed out. I dump that water(outside) and refill it with warm water to bring the temp of the rat back up. As I am feeding if a snake will not take the rat I feel its face and if it is to cold I will just hold it up to a light to warm it up again and BAM they take it. This is what works for me.

---

This is the exact method I use. And it works for me and has been working for years.

I've also never had a rat "pop" on me as some are talking about.

thanks everyone for the suggestions

I put the rat in a ziploc the night before and place in the fridge. I usually don't feed till around 10pm the next day so by then it is usually pretty much thawed. I fill the sink bottom with warm water right before feeding and leave it in there about 5 minutes, blow dry the head (1 minute or so) and then feed.

YouTube - Royality - Feeding Time

I go over how I thaw in the first part of this video. works awesome, I dont use JUST plastic baggies anymore, because aspen sticks to wet rodents, and it seems something always pokes holes in the bags (usually nails)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eggman08

I feed live but in wanting to switch to frozen. What is the best way to get the frozen rodents to eating temp. Thanks

---

Just put it in a ziploc bag and fill up some sort of container with hot water and put it in with something weighing it down. It's very easy and doesnt leave you with a soaking wet mouse. I stay away from anything that involves a blow dryer or microwave lol

i toss all the rats i need for feeding in an extra tub in my rack, i let them sit in there with the small rats over the heat tape and anything smaller not on the heat tape for about 4 hours or whenever they're fully thawed and not cold to the touch, then i give them a quick blast with the hair dryer and they're ready to go.

what i like about this method is that the hair dryer acts as a pre scenting mechanism and everyone gets excited about their food and is waiting for me to drop their rats in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

The problem with using hot water to dethaw is it can weaken the stomach wall, and it's rather nasty when the mouse decides to pop while the snake is eating it. Personal experience. Also, if you use too hot of water, it can start cooking the mouse.

I've read different methods about using hot water, including just putting the head in to let the heat rise up. I haven't used that method though.

---

Yep, definately had that happen when I use to feed ft. The belly broke open and blood went everywhere. Not the most fun cleanup in the world ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JohnAvilla

I used to do it that way but a lot of the time when you thaw them too quickly they explode on impact. It is really gross and messy. It is also gross when you have a rodent juice spill. All I do now is leave them on top of my freezer in the morning and then put them under a lamp a few minutes before feeding. No water, no rodent bombs, no mess.

---

Lol I havent had that issue in close to 9 years of doing it that way. I never Thaw and re freeze... or leave sitting in nasty water too long. Also make sure your frozen mice arent ages old! lol I might leave them in the hot bags of water for maybe 10 mins? Rats I just put in a 5 Gal bucket with lid and let sit then when the water gets cold repeat step 1. Works for me! sorry bout the rodent bombs! Also if i want them dry i roll em in a towel or paper towel.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lolo76

One time I heated it TOO much, though, and almost burned poor Pedro's lips. :( So make sure you check it before serving!

---

Hey, that's good to know. I use a hairdryer, but hadn't thought about OVERheating. This whole thread has pretty good info throughout.

As for me, I move the mouse from the freezer to the fridge the day before, then leave it out on the counter for a few hours before feeding, with a short (15-20 seconds?) warming up with a hairdryer immediately beforehand. That method has worked well.

I double bag the rats(hate dealing with wet rats) and put in a bucket of hot water and weigh them down with a piece of driftwood.

Certainly not an expert and dealing with only one BP, but my f/t mice go into a Ziploc baggie, get submerged in a large plastic cup of hot water and sit for 30-60min (I usually dump and refill with more hot water at least once, but it probably isn't even necessary). I feel them (through the baggie) to make sure they're warm enough and definitely thawed through. Tyler's video was pretty cool, since mine doesn't bother with striking or constricting anything, and he's as easy to feed as any "normal" mammalian pet, so I just toss it into his enclosure. He just finds his mouse and swallows it. Given my experience with other pets, it's generally a bad sign when I get an "easy" one right off the bat, so I imagine my next snake will only eat live blue Berkshire dumbo Rex rats with only left eyes and right ears that are exactly 101F, left-"handed", and suffering from respiratory infections. :rolleyes:

I only feed f/t to my kingsnake (or to those that need assist feeding). I run the hottest tap water I can, put the frozen mouse directly into the hot water, let it sit for about 20 minutes, dump the water, and refill with hot water again for about 5 minutes, check to make sure the belly is completely thawed and feed off. No exploding bellies, no ziplocs, no drying off.

What I do is get some tissue put the rat on the tissue and put it on top of the heat strip im using in the daytime and at night it should be thawed then i heat it up with a hair dryer!

James

I do the same thing that several people here do: Put the rodents in a ziploc bag and put the bag in a bowl of warm/hot water for a while, changing the water out as necessary. Once they're thawed, I stick them under a ceramic heat emitter for a little while to heat them up to snake-preferred temps.

After some experimentation, what I find works good for me is the following.

1) Take frozen mouse out before handling the snake, which will give it time to partially thaw while you handle the snake (away from the mouse!)
2) When you're done handling, bring the snake near the mouse, and let the snake get a whiff of it -- This should very clearly put it into feeding mode (keep it away from your face at this point)
3) Put the snake into either its feeding enclosure (this works well for me) or back into its home
4) Bring a cup of water big enough to hold the mouse just barely to a boil in the microwave
5) Put the mouse in the cup, and immediately put the cup near the snakes feeding enclosure or home, so that it can REALLY get a strong smell
6) Five minutes should be enough to thaw but not cook it, and get it to a temperature worthy of presenting
7) Present ; Watch out, my BP has exceptionally strong responses to this whole procedure. It is not uncommon for her to go after the nearest warm object.

Of course, use tongs or something other than your hands to handle the mouse at all times. Obviously you can replace mouse with rat, I just thought of that.

Well I just fill a 5 gallons bucket with hot water (as hot as I can get from the tap) then I dump them all in the bucket. I usually have to change the water out several times since it cools so fast (thawing 30+ rats at a time). Once they are thawed I fill the bucket with hot water again and let them set a bit to bring up the temp then comes the zombie rat dance. I have noticed some of mine will not eat if the rat is still wet, so I will towel dry and set in front of a heater for a few seconds.