best way to thaw food

we are going to feed our bp for the first time today. we have a frozen hopper mouse and i don't know how to thaw it correctly.

also, it was fed outside its tank at the pet store, is it ok if we start feeding it in its tank instead? i was told that it could make them more aggressive when you go to pick them up other times, but how true is that if you use the tongs to feed? this is a snake that my 3 1/2 year old step son handles as well, so we want it as tame as possible. (by handles i mean we will hold it while he pets it)

I like to thaw rodents by just leaving them sit out at room temperature for a few hours. I used to thaw in hot water, but after a few rats burst when being constricted, I changed my ways real quick...lol.

It is perfectly fine to feed your snake in his/her cage. I wait to feed until it is dark that way the snake knows that anything that comes into the tank after dark is food and anything that comes into the tank during daylight hours (i.e. my hands) is not food. I think they are less apt to refuse food if offered it when it is dark since that is their natural hunting hours.

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Originally Posted by lmartelli77

I like to thaw rodents by just leaving them sit out at room temperature for a few hours. I used to thaw in hot water, but after a few rats burst when being constricted, I changed my ways real quick...lol.

It is perfectly fine to feed your snake in his/her cage. I wait to feed until it is dark that way the snake knows that anything that comes into the tank after dark is food and anything that comes into the tank during daylight hours (i.e. my hands) is not food. I think they are less apt to refuse food if offered it when it is dark since that is their natural hunting hours.

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seconded. using hot water is alright in a pinch, but there's always a higher risk of the feeder rupturing and leaving a hell of a mess. I also don't like it because it's possible to cook the rodent slightly, and BPs can't digest cooked food.

what works for me is putting all my rats in separate bags in the fridge and leaving them to defrost overnight. pick an old bowl or something you'll never use for food again just in case anything leaks out. the next evening when the rats are thawed, I heat a cup of water for about a minute iin the microwave and float each bag for 10-20 minutes just to warm it up. the warming definitely helps in my experience, especially when converting a snake from live to frozen/thawed. however, I also think using a separate enclosure for feeding is best. I don't want to risk accidental ingestion of any substrate, and I think it really helps finicky eaters. nothing fancy- just a sterilite tub from target works fine. if a snake associates a small, barren enclosure (with only paper towels) with feeding time, it generally won't expect food when reaching into its home, no matter the time of day.

whatever method you use, make sure to test the feeder's head and hips. those are the thickest parts of the body and the last to thaw completely.

since we only got our baby a few days ago, is it ok to wait until monday night to feed it? at the store it was fed every friday. we were going to change it to thursdays so that my step son could see it eat. he goes back to his mother thursdays at 5pm and comes back here monday mornings. so, since it would do better being fed at night i would like to wait for night, and i would like for him to see it, will the baby be ok to wait a few more days?

I would certainly defer to anyone on here with more experience than I, but it's my experience that the 'feeding day' itself isn't terribly important so long as you're keeping it about 5-8 days between feedings for new hatchlings. I feed weekly on sunday evenings, but my snakes don't care if they eat on a monday if my weekend is full. after about two-three months or so, I think once a week is sufficient until they're fully grown, at which point you can cut back on frequency and just feed larger prey.

last thing, make sure you're using hemostats (ten dollar word for large tweezers).

It would be totally fine to wait until Monday night, or even next Thursday to give it time to settle in.

I let my F/T sit out on top of Ari's enclosure for a couple of hours to thaw, and then I heat them up to body temperature with a blow dryer.

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Originally Posted by lmartelli77

It is perfectly fine to feed your snake in his/her cage. I wait to feed until it is dark that way the snake knows that anything that comes into the tank after dark is food and anything that comes into the tank during daylight hours (i.e. my hands) is not food. I think they are less apt to refuse food if offered it when it is dark since that is their natural hunting hours.

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I agree! I feed mine in their tank after dark as well. Seems to work consistently for the 1 that I switched from live to f/t.

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Originally Posted by flyingsqueak

I let my F/T sit out on top of Ari's enclosure for a couple of hours to thaw, and then I heat them up to body temperature with a blow dryer.

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I also blast my feeders with a blow dryer for a few seconds before offering it to my snakes. It seems to really intensify their feeding response.

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Originally Posted by jarobin

since we only got our baby a few days ago, is it ok to wait until monday night to feed it?

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It's probably best to wait until Monday to feed it...that way it is more accustomed to its new home and any stress it had from the move will be gone. I always wait a week to offer food when I get a new snake, no matter when their last meal was.

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Originally Posted by wwmjkd

what works for me is putting all my rats in separate bags in the fridge and leaving them to defrost overnight. pick an old bowl or something you'll never use for food again just in case anything leaks out. the next evening when the rats are thawed, I heat a cup of water for about a minute iin the microwave and float each bag for 10-20 minutes just to warm it up.

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does this make the rats dry after they thaw out? I have tried the water method (putting the bags in water during the day to let them thaw) and also just leaving them set out to thaw, but then when I take the rats out of the bags they are wet and gross and I end up spending more time trying to get them dry when I could getting everyone fed. so maybe if I put them in the fridge they will thaw out slowly and be dry? thanks for the info...

Remember it's also usually important for it to be pretty quite when you feed and not a lot of running around in front of the enclosure. I usually cover the front of the tank with a towel and keep quite. Also, don't get discouraged if he doesn't eat on the first try. Both of my BPs struck at the mouse when I first tried to feed them but they were strikes of fear and not hunger...more of a defensive thing.

I will put the f/t in the fridge first thing in the morning before work and then when I get home around 5:00pm I take them out of fridge and put them on the counter. Then when I go to feed (around 8:30 or 9:00pm), I use a hairdryer to warm them up a little. So far my normal, Nibs, hits it right away.

One more thing...since I have been thawing the f/t this way, I stopped doing the water thing and the f/t definately doesn't "come apart" any more when my bp snatches them from the feeding tongs.

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Originally Posted by RetiredJedi

I will put the f/t in the fridge first thing in the morning before work and then when I get home around 5:00pm I take them out of fridge and put them on the counter. Then when I go to feed (around 8:30 or 9:00pm), I use a hairdryer to warm them up a little. So far my normal, Nibs, hits it right away.

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thanks i think we will try that method monday evening. though more like 8pm for bedtime purposes. i plan to black out the sides of the enclosure too before then.

the hairdryer idea that a few people mentioned sounds like a good idea. how long should i do it for? my hairdryer has a few settings, low/med/high speed, and low/med/high heat. which do you think is best?

I use low heat low speed and just use my heat gun to test how warm. I think they should be in the low 80s in body temp. Maybe someone else can tell you what to do if you dont have a heat gun. I guess I blowdry it for about 3 minutes keeping the hairdrier about a foot and a half away waving the dryer back and forth. The key is not to get it too hot too fast or it will get nasty.

update? Curious how your first feeding F/T went.. ???

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Originally Posted by AZ_Equine

update? Curious how your first feeding F/T went.. ???

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decided not to feed until monday night. we have only had our bp for a few days and id prefer to feed it at night anyway. so i'm going to wait until my step son comes home monday and we'll feed it right before bedtime (8pm). as a few members mentioned this will help with the stress from the move too which makes me feel better about not trying today. i'll update monday night.