How long do you thaw your F/T rodents? Exploding rats?

I just had a lovely experience of exploding rats. My very enthusiastic mahogany girl squeezed her rat so hard the insides came... out. Yay. A similar feat was performed by my enchi queen bee male. Wonderful. Those two are getting a bath as soon as possible (By the way, when can I give them a bath? After the 48 hours?), I so do not want to handle snakes covered in dried rat guts... Another rodent lost a leg, and another lost the tail somehow. Uh, yeah, I'm thinking I heated them for too long or maybe they were just out too long.

I haven't had an exploding rat problem before, and I think I'd rather not have the issue again, thank you very much. I usually leave them in my snake room for five-eight hours for anything larger than an abnormally small rat pup. After that, I put them under a heat lamp for 15-30 minutes. I think I may have heated them too long. The snakes eat like clockwork this way, but I'm wondering if maybe doing something to my feeding routine could prevent this from happening again. Because seriously... EWWWWWWWW. So how long do you thaw your f/t rodents and how do you heat them?

Any issues I should look for in the snakes that ate any of these rodents? Hunger strikes, medical issues..? I'm hoping not, and I'm guessing no on the medical issues seeing as I'm pretty sure I just heated them too long, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I use hot tap water. I soak the rats and allow them to thaw. Once thawed which is usually about 45 minutes and that's for small rats up to XXL rats.

Once thawed I change the water out and give them 15 minutes to heat up. Once heated I again change the water out and carry the rats with water and all in a tub to the snake room where they are fed.

I have had rats pop before but never like you are describing. Tails coming off is not such a surprise with a strong feeder.

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Originally Posted by KMG

I use hot tap water. I soak the rats and allow them to thaw. Once thawed which is usually about 45 minutes and that's for small rats up to XXL rats.

Once thawed I change the water out and give them 15 minutes to heat up. Once heated I again change the water out and carry the rats with water and all in a tub to the snake room where they are fed.

I have had rats pop before but never like you are describing. Tails coming off is not such a surprise with a strong feeder.

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Seriously? Just 45 minutes? Huh... that would be easier... How hot is the water? How much do your rats weigh (my supplier tends to run on the large side)? Do you soak them in a bag or in the water itself? You don't scent the room? Are the rats wet when you feed them? Your method sounds about a million times less complicated...

Hmm. Ok. Not sure what to think of the exploding rats besides "gross", then. I was honestly more confused by limbs coming off, so I'm glad it's nothing to worry about. The snakes that managed to tear the body from the limbs are indeed strong feeders. They practically jump out of their tubs to get their rats.

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Originally Posted by KMG

I use hot tap water. I soak the rats and allow them to thaw. Once thawed which is usually about 45 minutes and that's for small rats up to XXL rats.

Once thawed I change the water out and give them 15 minutes to heat up. Once heated I again change the water out and carry the rats with water and all in a tub to the snake room where they are fed.

I have had rats pop before but never like you are describing. Tails coming off is not such a surprise with a strong feeder.

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I do basically the same thing. I keep mine in the ziplock bags when I thaw them. Purge the air, place a weight on top and into the sink. Have a bag of 10 mediums thawing right now. :D Another 15 minutes and they'll be fed off. :)

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Originally Posted by sho220

I do basically the same thing. I keep mine in the ziplock bags when I thaw them. Purge the air, place a weight on top and into the sink. Have a bag of 10 mediums thawing right now. :D Another 15 minutes and they'll be fed off. :)

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Wow... I'm really over complicating this, aren't I? Are the rats wet when you take them out? My enchi lesser pastel girl just started eating F/T for the first time in her life (over a year old) and I'm worried she may not like wet rats.

i do NOT defrost in hot water, as rats thawed too quickly are more prone to uneven heating, gas build and... pop. I thaw in cold for about 30 minutes then ad hot water slowly until the water is around 120 and let it heat my feeders for another 5 minutes or so, until they temp out at about 105-109. you don't need to heat them super hot, very fast or for very long or you'll cook 'em.

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Originally Posted by Penultimate

Wow... I'm really over complicating this, aren't I? Are the rats wet when you take them out? My enchi lesser pastel girl just started eating F/T for the first time in her life (over a year old) and I'm worried she may not like wet rats.

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People tend to over-complicate everything with keeping and breeding bp's. :)

Sometimes they get wet, sometimes they don't. Doesn't matter. If they get wet I just use a paper towel to blot up some of the water and feed them off. If anything it gives your snake what's most likely a little needed hydration.

And Lizardlicks above has a good point about thawing them slowly, if possible. It's not absolutely necessary, but it does help greatly with avoiding blow-outs...

I do not put them in a bag. I used to but the bags always seem to get a leak so they got wet regardless. Now I just place the rats in a tub and fill it with water from the tap as warm as it will come out. Doing this I have NEVER had any issues with uneven heating or gas causing blow outs. The largest rats I feed are XXL and my breeder labels rats in the range of 350-700 grams as such. They thaw just fine and its easy to make sure they are thawed by giving the head and stomach a squeeze. If you still feel any cold area then they need more time.

I heat the water again before offering the rats because a live mouse has a body temp just over 100F and I like to mimic that.

I offer them wet. None of my snakes seem to mind and they get a good amount of water as well.

I do not scent the room.

I have had a few blow outs over the years but nothing serious and the snake has always eaten it guts and all. Usually my BRB when super hungry will get alittle excited and squeeze a tad to much. He is sooooo strong. I only remember this happening twice with him and once with my BP. I don't believe my method of thawing or warming had anything to do with it. It just happens.

I agree some of these methods are extra complicated. I leave them in a tub under luke warm running water for about 20/30 minutes or until they are soft and completely defrosted. Take them out, dab off with paper towels and give them a quick blast with the hairdryer which leaves them dried off and heated up. my snakes have never refused them. Not even during a shed. 😊👍🏻

I thaw in warm water for like 30 min then change it out for hotter water around 110 i let sit there till warm if water drops below 100 before warm i change out again. I use a bag but if the get wet not a problem because i blast them with a hair dryer just before feeding.

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Originally Posted by J&A exotics

I thaw in warm water for like 30 min then change it out for hotter water around 110 i let sit there till warm if water drops below 100 before warm i change out again. I use a bag but if the get wet not a problem because i blast them with a hair dryer just before feeding.

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Very similar method. The hot water comes out around 110-115F. I only have 1 snake and he's eating smalls now.
I use a zip-lock bag in a disposable cup and the tongs to hold it down. Usually during the thaw (around 30 minutes) I'll open the bag, wave it in front of cage for the scent to inform my BP that dinner's on the way. Return to bag and immerse in water for final 10-15 minutes of heating. Remove from bag, check temp, dry off with paper towel and then dangle in front of hide (or the snake if he's already got his head out.)

I put them in a Ziploc bag and toss it in my utlity tub with hot water. Takes about 30 - 45 minutes depending on the size of the rats. Before I feed, I sit the rats on a tray and fan them with a hair dryer, focusing on the head.
The hot air really scents the room, and my snakes are waiting to be fed by the time I pull open their tubs.

I take mine out in the afternoon and leave them on the counter to thaw. Usually wrap them in a paper towel so absorb any moisture that's building up. By evening they're ready to go. I might blast them with the hairdryer a bit just to warm them a little.
I used to do the hot water thing but I hated how uneven the thawing was. I could never quite tell if the head was fully thawed yet. Now I never have to second guess.

Food in ziplocks, ziplocks in hot water for 2 or 3 hours.

At this point, the food is ready to use.

Sometimes, I will empty the water, refill with new hot water and let sit for 10 or 15 more mins then feed.

I thaw in the fridge overnight, take them out to warm up on the counter for a couple hours before feeding, for my snakes that want them hot I use a blow dryer.

I thaw at room temperature for a few hrs. I get home around 4:15 & take it out. About 3-3.5 hrs later, I check for softness. If th belly & head feel ok, I then put it in a bowl with hot tap water, weighted down (its in a plastic bag until feeding time). I change the water out every 15-30 mins, then one last time right before feeding to give it a heat signature. That's my method, works for me

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You don't even need to use water till there completely thawed.. Just like you do for dinner...if your cooking chicken that night you take it out and let it thaw in the morning so you can prepare it that night...that's the best way..when its feeding g day..I wake up take what I need out of the freezer..and let it thaw for a couple hours in a zip lock bag..then use some hot water to warm it up..doesn't have to be boiling hot... Just hot to the touch to warm them up for five mins or so...

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I put my frozen rats in the fridge the start thawing out the night before a feed. I'll then put the rats in a freezer type ziplock and thaw/ warm them in hot water for 45min-1 hour before feeding my snakes. They are fed late at night, just before I go to bed in order to not stress them. If something is found refused (rarely now) it's removed first thing in the morning.

I've had rats' tails come off with a strong feeder. I've also had a one batch of frozen rat weanlings that seemed to have popped easily, but never enough to leave my snakes covered in rat innards.


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I used to thaw Shesha's pinky rats in warm water from frozen when he was younger, but not that the rats are larger I prefer to move them from the fridge to the freezer to thaw in the morning. By 9 pm or so when I am ready to feed him they are thawed out and ready to warm. I just leave them in the ziploc bag and weigh them down with a pair of hemostats in a sink full of water as hot as the tap runs. I usually drain the water 2-3 times and refill (about every 10 minutes or so). If water gets in the bag I dry them with paper towel and then blast them with a hair dryer. I do like to heat a cup of water for a minute in the microwave and dip the rat's head in the hot water for about 7 seconds to raise the heat signature of that area. Then out comes the blow dryer and into the tank goes the rat. I have had my guy for nearly 10 months and haven't had any problems with exploding rats yet *fingers crossed*. I agree that a wet rat can give them added hydration, but since I use loose eco-earth bedding it makes a huge mud pie rat when it gets dragged around the floor of the tank if it is at all wet. :rolleyes:

Rats go in a ziplock bag in the warm to hot water. I doubt if I've ever had one take more than 30 minutes.

Bunnies are another story. I put them in the fridge the night before, then they go in warm to hot water for quite awhile the day of feeding.

I thaw first on top of the compact freezer that's in the garage for about an hour (or more depending on season). Then place a cup of tap water (minus the feeders!) in the microwave for about a minute, let the water cool a bit first. Warm the feeder(s) in the cup 4-5 minutes. Check feeder's whole length with a temp gun. At around 100-102 degrees F, I then finish off with a blow-dryer and offer. I had one mouse pop my first or second try because the water was too hot. It popped when the snake hit it, and it resulted in a regurge. That learned lesson was only needed once.