Thawing mess help

So I normally thaw my rats with a heat lamp. Still frozen, I put them in a plastic baggie and then put the baggie in a small tin, which functions as a sort of oven to heat them up under the smallish lamp. Usually, I let them thaw with the top of the tin open to let moisture out, and when they're soft and warmish I'll close the top for ~1/2 hr and move the light closer so that they're actually good and warm, to get the BPs attention.

This worked fine until recently. As the prey size has increased, it takes longer to thaw the rats, and by the time they're ready to feed usually one of them at least is "leaking" some blood. Again, this isn't normally a problem and maybe the smell helps stimulate appetite, but last week the rat was sloppy enough that I think one BP had no idea what to do with it.

She's kind of picky/squeamish, and even though she struck at it it made a huge mess when she did, and I don't think she could figure out where the head was, and she ended up giving up after a few minutes of spreading gore around her enclosure trying to get it down.

Any advice on how to make my FT rats a bit more solid? Should I thaw them overnight in the fridge and then heat them for a shorter period of time with a more powerful heat bulb?

THANKS!

I usually warm up some water and then place my frozen rats in that to heat up. As they get larger, I'll have to change the water out with hot water again to make sure it gets thawed out properly. So far my snake hasn't cared about the fact that the rats are fairly damp when he eats them.

Perhaps you could keep your rats in a small plastic bag, and then place that in some hot water to thaw out. At least if your snake doesn't like wet food.

I would not try cooking them with heat lamps or making small oven type things. The goal is to thaw them to room temp, not cook the meat in any way.

For what it's worth, this is what I do:

Rodent in ziplock. Ziplock in container of hot water. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours while I do other things.

Feed.

I warm my frozen feeders up with a heat lamp too but first, I take it out of the freezer and let it sit in room temperature until thawed (could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on the size of the prey). Then when it's room temperature, I heat it under the heat lamp for 30 minutes (or more if your prey is larger). I would flip it over halfway to prevent one side from cooking. It's a good idea to wait until the food item is no longer frozen before you put the heat lamp over it because the idea is to warm up the food item, not cook it.


This is the best method for me. I've tried hot water and it does not work for my BP because it doesn't get warm enough!

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Originally Posted by 200xth

I would not try cooking them with heat lamps or making small oven type things. The goal is to thaw them to room temp, not cook the meat in any way.

For what it's worth, this is what I do:

Rodent in ziplock. Ziplock in container of hot water. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours while I do other things.

Feed.

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I've noticed she won't take food that doesn't feel warm to the touch to me. Not hot, but warm. I think she gets thrown off by the other heat sources (me) and starts focusing on them rather than the rat. This is despite the fact that I'm using metal hemostats that are quite long.

LIke most have said....take frozen rat, double bag, throw it in the fridge for slow thaw. Prior to feeding throw it on the counter while making breakfast to make the wife once again roll her eyes at me. While doing breakfast dishes throw bagged thawed out rodent in tub of hot water from the tap, cover with one of the breakfast plates that is now dishwasher ready. Add hot water a couple times while having second cup of coffee and finishing dishes. Pause from dishes while first cup of coffee goes to work, come back, reheat second cup of coffee...add fresh hot water. Dishes done, rodent warmed up and gently squished with fingers to verify interally thawed, take packed rodent up to feeding area, cut open bag, grab with tongs, let the snake hammer it.

Done deal.

We have only had one bloody feeding. She was post shed and had not eaten in just over two weeks. She hit harder than usual and contrsticted harder then usualy. The hide of the rodent basically pulled away from the head at the base of the neck. Kind of bloody. She didn't care...took her time getting it turned and swallowed it down.

I've seen a few threads where they have basically cooked via heat lamp or microwave....never ends well.

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Originally Posted by dkspftw

I've noticed she won't take food that doesn't feel warm to the touch to me. Not hot, but warm. I think she gets thrown off by the other heat sources (me) and starts focusing on them rather than the rat. This is despite the fact that I'm using metal hemostats that are quite long.

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5 to 10 mins before feeding, you can replace the cooled off water with hot water and let the ziplocked rodents sit in that for a few mins. That should bring the temp up enough to attract her attention.

Or you can dip the head in a little dish of hot water right before feeding. That usually brings the head up to 85 to 90 degrees which does the trick on a couple of mine.

Rat goes into a zip lock and thaws at room temperature for a couple hours. Throw a couple of rats at a time into a large bowl of the hottest tap water I can get for 10 minutes. Take them out, roll up into a per towel and then hit with a hairdryer for a minute to both dry them off and add a little more heat. Then it's off to feed. Simple and works 99% of the time for all 10 of my snakes - two boas - six ball pythons - two colubrids.

Usually on the feeding day morning I move frozen rats from freezer into a zip plastic bag, and just put it in refrigerator until it's time for feeding. After that I just warm up and dry rats under a lamp till it get's to the proper body temperature for feeding.

If in a hurry, then bowl of hot water works, change it twice in the hour or so it takes to thaw. Then I just dry it with a hair dryer. Be sure to try with hands if rodents are fully defrosted ;)

And I don't really get why there would be mess if food was killed in a non violent way. If put to sleep by gas or frozen babies there shouldn't be any blood.

This is the best method that I've found and I've tried everything.

I take the f/t rodents out about 3-4 hours prior to wanting to feed. Then once I feel that they're no longer frozen I put them on papertowels on a plate that I don't use and I put them under a heat lamp for 15-20 mins, then I flip them over and do 15-20 minutes again. Then once that is done I'll take a blow dryer and hit them with a blow dryer to scent the room. No mess.

If I needed to speed up the thawing cycle I'd take a sterilite shallow container with warm-hot water(not boiling hot) and put them in a ziploc bag in the water with the lid closed to retain heat, then I'd put under a heat lamp. I don't open the bag or anything to let moisture out and instead if I have one that's wet or slightly moist I'll just rub with a paper towel.

if you overheat it, two things happen:

the rhodents dont hold together and you get a mess when the python constricts them.

and

you lose some vitamins the BP absolutely needs. it needs to be raw, not cooked, especially the liver and other internal organs.

i would suggest using warm, not hot, water to thaw it and warm it to about the body temperature of a living rhodent, and then give it a short blast with a hair dryer.

avoid all that and just feed live. As long as you don't put a starving rat in there and forget about it, its just as safe as F/T. Just without the mess and hassle.

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Originally Posted by Jay Mechtly

avoid all that and just feed live. As long as you don't put a starving rat in there and forget about it, its just as safe as F/T. Just without the mess and hassle.

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Some people can't feed live all the time. Some dont want to have to take care of the rat or go to the provider of the live food all the time

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Originally Posted by Jay Mechtly

avoid all that and just feed live. As long as you don't put a starving rat in there and forget about it, its just as safe as F/T. Just without the mess and hassle.

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I am sorry but this simply isn't true. Ask around or search Google and you will find plenty of tales and photos of snakes that were seriously harmed by their meals. Simple as a snake striking the rat's midsection instead of the head and the rat whipping around to bite an eye or neck. I feed live because my pied male went off f/t and pre-killed and absolutely refuses to go back and he has had a few narrow escapes. Standing by with tongs to shove in the rat's mouth the moment he constricts is not much fun.

Yeah, injury is just one of several reasons I don't feed live.

Feeding live .... I wear a kevlar glove from menards (home improvement store) and grab the rat by the back of the neck. Using a wire cutter I clip the teeth. If you don't clip too much (no bleeding) and the snake does not take it, the teeth will grow out and the rat will be fine. Before anyone goes off on how cruel this method is :O , remember the rat is a food item. I have had zero issues with rat bits since using this method.

When feeding frozen, I thaw out the rats on a plastic grid that I salvaged from a ceiling florescent light. This way there is air movement around the entire rat. Things thaw out much faster. Then heat up slightly before feeding.

I just use the microwave. Bahaha

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

if you overheat it, two things happen:

the rhodents dont hold together and you get a mess when the python constricts them.

and

you lose some vitamins the BP absolutely needs. it needs to be raw, not cooked, especially the liver and other internal organs.

i would suggest using warm, not hot, water to thaw it and warm it to about the body temperature of a living rhodent, and then give it a short blast with a hair dryer.

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Hot water helps to thaw them out, but I only do once cycle. They're still frozen by the time the water cools down or at least on the inside they're frozen. Then the water just helps them thaw out, especially when you're when you're thawing 10+ rats. Then being under the heat lamp raises the temperature so it holds heat longer.

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Originally Posted by Liquid311

I just use the microwave. Bahaha

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I honestly hope you're joking, but I wouldn't say that in here as somebody may try it thinking you're serious.

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Originally Posted by Neal

I honestly hope you're joking, but I wouldn't say that in here as somebody may try it thinking you're serious.

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That is sad.

That's why I just P/K. No thawing, no mess, they are still warm, and you can't mess up and make they prey septic.


I like my Dubstep to go Wop Wop Wop Wop

Just to add my two cents here but pretty much repeating what some of the other members said, I drop my frozen rat in the hottest tap water possible and refresh the water as needed. This whole process takes about 20 to 30 minutes. While this is going on, I'll give my BP a warm bath to get his appetite up and running. After confirming the rat is completely thawed, I dry it off with a towel and I use a blow dryer to bring up it's temperature some more. Moments before actually feeding, I focus the blow dryer directly on the rat's head to give the BP a focus point. This process works 95% of the time.

I tried using the zip lock method before but it seemed to slow the thawing process. Straight into hot water works for me. Hope my input helps.