Which is better: thawing directly in water or not?

Oohhh but I do hate the smell, if wet means stink... I'll try it anyway if it's a chance to make sure baby girl is getting enough agua

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

Lot's of good advice....I'll throw in my :2cent::2cent:....the more you hear the better you can tailor you're feeding procedure.

I'll pick out my feeders a day or two before and place them in the fridge.

On feeding day I'll remove them from the zip lock bags and put them in warm, not hot, water for 10-20 mins just to warm them up. I then change the water to a bit warmer but not hot and place each in a bowl in the feeding bin (yes, I feed all my snakes in different tub than their enclosures) to pre-scent the feeding tub for about 10 minutes. Then I remove each bowl and get each snake out of their enclosure, weigh them, and put in the respective feeding tub. I'll let them sit in the tub for a few minutes while I change water and give their enclosure a quick cleaning and spruce up. By that time each snake is ready to eat and focused. I hold the feeder in paper towel just so it's not dripping wet, grab a weight on it, and feed with tongs.

I've never had a refusal to eat and had no problems with this procedure. At this time I only have 3 snakes so it's not a huge undertaking for me.

You'll experiment and see what works best for you....good luck.

I thaw directly in hot water as I figure the extra water intake is never a bad thing. Thawing at room temperature over an extended period can lead to significant bacteria growth, which is why the FDA recommends against it. There is definitely the argument that this bacteria has little effect on snakes, but I have seen no scientific data to prove one way or another. I have heard anecdotal reports from people having long term success with this, to those saying they have lost animals due to this method. In my opinion there are two choices, the first is defrosting quickly in hot water as to discourage bacterial growth by a short time period. The second is defrosting slowly over night in temperatures under 40 degrees F, then warming right before feeding. The second method is more inline with the standard FDA regulations, but if you do some searching you can find they aprove of the first as well.

i put my frozen pup rat into a ziplock bag into a container with hot water. an hour later i change the water to hot again and throw the rat in so its wet. I am now feeding Boople in her enclosure since she refuses to eat in her feeding tub. i just lay the rat on the wood and she takes it.