Can you defrost feeders in oven at 170F?

I put my rat in a ziplock bag in hot tap water and somehow water got into the bag and got my rat soggy. So I now just put him into the oven at 170 degrees. I hope this isnt going to be bad for using him as a feeder. Does this also smell the house? I dont want dead rat smell all over the house either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chrisdab

I put my rat in a ziplock bag in hot tap water and somehow water got into the bag and got my rat soggy. So I now just put him into the oven at 170 degrees. I hope this isnt going to be bad for using him as a feeder. Does this also smell the house? I dont want dead rat smell all over the house either.

---

Well...I take my rodents out of the freezer first thing in the morning and let them defrost throughout the day. Once they are fully defrosted, I turn the oven on broil and them them heat up for a minute or two. It does a nice job without them getting soggy or overheating and exploding. So, the oven thing works, as weird as it is to bake rodents.

FYI, sometimes they will make the kitchen smell a little funky for a few minutes.

just make sure you dont cook the rat

Update: My snake wont eat it. He seems to be cuddling with the rat and kissing it, but not swallowing.

This is the first time I am feeding my snake, as I got him from a friend.

What do I do with the rat now? Just throw it out? Refreeze it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chrisdab

Update: My snake wont eat it. He seems to be cuddling with the rat and kissing it, but not swallowing.

This is the first time I am feeding my snake, as I got him from a friend.

What do I do with the rat now? Just throw it out? Refreeze it?

---

I would not recommend refreezing it. If you have another snake, monitor, etc. Offer it to them. Otherwise, toss it; however, since it's f/t, I'd leave it in the cage with him overnight. You never know, he might eat it sometime in the night.

Did your friend specify if he was taking f/t or live? Mice or Rats? Did you allow him a week to acclimate? What temperatures are you keeping him at? Do you have two hides for him? What is his humidity? Please share information on how you are keeping him. :)

I came back and watched him feeding. That was pretty cool.

In the future, what is the best way to thaw frozen rats? I dont want to leave the feed out all day to spoil and ziplock bags in water can still get it water inside the bag.

There's a few different ways to thaw them. The 2 I use most often are...

Letting it sit out during the day
Placing the rat in a ziploc bag in warm water for 30mins (do it twice to be sure it's thawed)

The rat getting wet isn't that big of a deal. Just dry it off with a towel before feeding

I have a heat pad that I use to warm them up after they're thawed. Works quite nicely - although, it does get hot. I've had my experiences with explosions. not fun :colbert:

Let thaw for hours, then heating pad.

Exploding rats are terrible, as is the mess/time with FT. Makes me wish I fed more live, and I may do this as the collection grows.


JonV

rodents in the stove !!!!! crazy !! and freaking funnny !!! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Also, not everyone uses ziplocs.

We used to, and then it just got rediculous that we were using a ziploc every week, $$. Now we just use the same pot every week with warm water for an hour or two. I let the prey drip off a bit before feeding, but they get it still pretty wet. I am sure the extra moisture is helping to keep them better hydrated, and it saves us time and money for thawing.

I use one large ziplock for all of my f/t rodents. I thaw them out for around six or eight hours next to an oil filled radiator that I have in my snake room. I then put the bag in hot water for around ten or fifteen minutes.

Hope this helps.

Thaw under hot running water for about 20-30 minutes. Letting the water sit until it gets cold, then replacing it.

I use a hair dryer to warm them up after defrosting.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Michelle.C

Well...I take my rodents out of the freezer first thing in the morning and let them defrost throughout the day. Once they are fully defrosted, I turn the oven on broil and them them heat up for a minute or two. It does a nice job without them getting soggy or overheating and exploding. So, the oven thing works, as weird as it is to bake rodents.

FYI, sometimes they will make the kitchen smell a little funky for a few minutes.

---

MMMM, broiled rat :hungry: :P

I use a hairdryer also I dont think I could stomach eating anything else out of my oven lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Buttons

Placing the rat in a ziploc bag in warm water for 30mins (do it twice to be sure it's thawed)

---

This is a great way to do it. Make sure the rat is warm before feeding, BPs and any other snake with heat pits rely on heat signature for locating prey.

Some people don't even use ziplocs and don't seem to have any problems at all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chrisdab

I put my rat in a ziplock bag in hot tap water and somehow water got into the bag and got my rat soggy. So I now just put him into the oven at 170 degrees. I hope this isnt going to be bad for using him as a feeder. Does this also smell the house? I dont want dead rat smell all over the house either.

---

I don't think anyone mentioned this...but never...NEVER EVER EVER...try to thaw a prey item in the microwave...they explode...it smells bad in the microwave for weeks...and it's rather disgusting to have to clean up...even if it was in an open ziploc bag to cover it...5 seconds on thaw=boom...they explode from the trapped air in the lungs overheating I'm sure...

ok, I'll stop before I go into too much detail....just don't do it...trust me >.<

I'm so glad I feed live - well, except to the kingsnake, but that's because I don't breed what he feeds on.

With his, I just dump the prey directly into the hot water until defrosted, one more dump in more hot water to give him a good heat signture and he's one happy camper. Don't even use a baggy.