Whats a good way to thaw a frozen mouse?

Topic :gj: :D

I just put them in a ziplock sandwich bag and set them in hot water from the tap. They are ready in anywhere from 15 - 30 minutes. Boiling water will burst them and probably cook them. A Rat takes a couple of hours to thaw this way.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sum182

Topic :gj: :D

---

In a plastic baggie in a container of warm to lukewarm water. I don't like to cook feeders before I give it to my snakes. Keep the mouse dry.

You can also leave it out for a few hours at room temp (70 degrees).

I use the same Zip-Loc bag method as Dale, and have not had any real problems to speak of. Once they are thawed, I do give the outside of the bag a short blast of REALLY hot water from the tap. I do that right before I drop them in the tubs.

If you don't feed til late in the day you could always just sit it out near your snakes and allow it to thaw up to room temp and prescent at the same time. We fed our new RTB this past friday by laying out his rat and then heating it up with a hair dryer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hyper Joe

Keep the mouse dry.

---

you do not have to keep the mouse dry

i put them in a bucket of hot water then dump it out when it gets cold and refill with hot again. the bigger the animal is (rat, rabbit, pig, ect) you will need to do this a couple more times.
i just squeeze the mouse so it is not dripping wet, then give it to the snake
works fine for me

I agree with everyone above me. Here's some more hints:
1. don't microwave - mouse will either explode, or burn your snake from the inside!
2. don't boil - snakes don't need to cook their food.

You can also set it out under an ceramic heat emitter or heat lamp for awhile to thaw it, but just be sure to keep checking on it that it does not get too hot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nova2door

you do not have to keep the mouse dry

---

You don't have to keep it dry, but depending on what type of substrate you use, it will cut down on the amount of junk your BP gets in it's mouth. Wet fur picks up substrate.

Wet also reduces the smell because the hair is matted close to the body of the mouse and not giving off as many scent particals. An important factor when feeding F/T.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

You don't have to keep it dry, but depending on what type of substrate you use, it will cut down on the amount of junk your BP gets in it's mouth. Wet fur picks up substrate.

Wet also reduces the smell because the hair is matted close to the body of the mouse and not giving off as many scent particals. An important factor when feeding F/T.

---

i use newspaper, so theres nothing to stick to the mouse/rat
i breed rodents in the same room that my snakes are in so smell is not important either

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nova2door

i use newspaper, so theres nothing to stick to the mouse/rat
i breed rodents in the same room that my snakes are in so smell is not important either

---

:gj: Glad your system works for you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

:gj: Glad your system works for you.

---

26 out of my 30 snakes seem to like it. the other 4 are live only

thanks for all your help guys, i was doing it in a baggie with water but was just curious if there was a better way of going about it.

I used to do it in a baggie, but IMO it's a waste of ziplocs.

I put a few rodents in a bowl and let them thaw for most of the day. I leave the rodents really close to the cage so the snakes get into a nice feeding mode.

Then I blow dry the rodents so they're pretty warm and this method works like a charm for me.

From my limited experience I've noticed that the snake REALLY need the warm prey; my snakes seem a lot more excited about warm prey than room temperature prey.

The internal temp of a live mouse would be higher then just room temp. Snakes also detect the food by heat as well as smell so a warmer mouse is easyer for them to see. Also the warmer the snake the better for digestion.

alot of mine dont care if its warmed or not but a few will not eat them unless warmed. i typically just leave mine out to thaw a room temp. then the few snakes i have that wont eat them unless warmed i will take those rodents and give them the hairdryer treatment for a minute. if you have maybe one or 2 mice to thaw i would run hot tap water into a butter tub and set the lid on top(DO NOT SEAL THE LID IT WILL BLOW THE LID OFF AND COULD BURN YOU) then ill put the mice on top of the lid

As mentioned, I dry the feeders because wet attracts substrate. And if your feeding on newspaper then the ink gets on the feeders when wet. Unless it is unprinted. I also second the motion for the less scent due to washing/being wet.