How do you thaw feeders properly?

I just read that snakes cant digest cooked food and that it is bad to us boiling water to thaw rats because it will cook them! I've been using boiling water to thaw them though is that bad?? I saw videos on YouTube that showed how to thaw with boiling water!?!?!? Help Please


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Originally Posted by dillymann

I just read that snakes cant digest cooked food and that it is bad to us boiling water to thaw rats because it will cook them! I've been using boiling water to thaw them though is that bad?? I saw videos on YouTube that showed how to thaw with boiling water!?!?!? Help Please


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This is how I do it...

http://www.rickysreptiles.com/wp-con...honFeeding.gif

Ok thank you i was worried that it would be bad for my snake how long do you keep the rat in the boiling water??


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The rats are not being placed in boiling water, they are placed in warm water. You don't want the water to be hot enough to cook the rat while it is thawing.

You can also leave them out at room temperature to thaw for a few hours like you would with chicken, or something you were gonna cook for dinner, and then when they are thawed you can place them in warm water for a few minutes to heat them to a temperature that will get the snake interested. If they rodents are already thawed, it only takes a few minutes (10-15) to get them nice and warm for your snakes. That's how long I leave mine soaking after they have been pre-thawed, and I have no problems.

The most important thing is to make sure that the rodents are completely thawed.

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Originally Posted by dillymann

Ok thank you i was worried that it would be bad for my snake how long do you keep the rat in the boiling water??

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I use warm/hot water - not boiling water. You just want to defrost it, not cook it

Is it going to be bad for my snake that I've been doing that so far??


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Originally Posted by dillymann

Is it going to be bad for my snake that I've been doing that so far??


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If the snake seems fine, it should be okay. But I would discontinue using boiling water in the future and utilize the methods that have just been described to you.

I plan to do so i just wanted to make sure that she would be ok


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Like others said do it in the warm water, I tend to do it in the little hotter than just warm but it seems my snake is doing good

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Thanks for the help


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Yeah once they are defrosted with warm water I just run the tap water until it's as hot as it can get, fill up my little bucket and leave the thawed item in the hot water to warm it up a little bit. Maybe 5 minutes or so and then offer it to the snake. Just to heat it up right before feeding.

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You can also leave them out at room temperature to thaw for a few hours like you would with chicken, or something you were gonna cook for dinner,

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This is how people get sick! The outside of the meat gets warm enough to let bacteria grow before the inside is even thawed, yuck.

I take the frodent out the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge. When I'm ready to feed, I run the hottest water from the tap, and let it sit in there for about 10 minutes. If it's a big rat, I run more hot water and let it sit for another 10. If it's a small rat or mouse, I don't. After that, I run hot water again, and walk with it over to the cage/tank. I pull it out of the water, pat a few times with a paper towel to get most of the water off, and there you go.

If you forget to take it out the night before, you can thaw it in COLD water for as long as it takes to thaw. You will need to switch out the water whenever it warms to room temp so that bacteria don't start growing.

I thaw mine out for a few hours at room temp in Ziploc bags then I put the Ziploc bags in 2-3 cycles of warm water to heat them up. I don't let the rodent get wet, just to me it would make them more prone to busting.