Mice Bombs

[jotay]

Ok I know this has been posted before but I can't seem to find it
For some reason my mice keep blowing up and guts going everywhere when Ozzy strikes them to eat
Any tips on thawing out and heating that have worked for you 99% of the time.
I feed Ozzy in his cage and the guts everywhere thing is a mess to clean off him and the cage
( please don't tell me to feed outside of cage, he use to eat in the box but just won't anymore)

Thanks for the help!

[Marla]

If they keep exploding, it suggests that they've been thawed and refrozen, that you may be warming them too fast, or that they've been stored too long. You may need to try a different source for your rodents, turn your freezer a little colder, or thaw overnight in the fridge and warm up more gradually. I've had it happen to me, but only a couple of times, and I definitely wouldn't want it to happen repeatedly, so I feel for you.

[Eddie_Z]

The method I have been using lately has been a great method for thawing & for enticing the appetite of Hissy. I lay a completely frozen rat out in my room (where her cage is) for about three hours or so. After three hours the rat is fairly well defrosted. Then, I take a hair dryer initially set on a low heat setting & I gradually heat the mouse up until i can feel that it is not cold anymore on any part of the body. It won't be warm necessarily, but it is not cold at all. This usually takes less than five minutes. Then I turn the temp up on the hair dryer. I put the rat on top of the screen hole of Hissy's AP cage & I blow hot air over the top of the rat to warm it up & give it a great heat signature. This also helps because Hissy, who has smelled a hint of rat for the last couple of hours, is gettin that pipin hot rat scented air blown right into her cage. She has never been an aggressive eater which is to say she would always wait patiently until i covered her up & left the room before really investigating her food. However, this past week I finally got this method down to a science &, before I could even lay the rat down in front of her hide, she HAMMERED it off the tongs. The rat had been in her cage for all of less than five seconds & she tatooed that bad boy! It was the first time i have seen her coil prey since way back when I first got her. At any rate, the rat did not explode at all & she WOLFED that thing down faster than any prey item in the history of our lives together! Hope this helps!

[jotay]

Thanks guys!
Since my supply from Rodent Pro has been gone I have been buying at Petco and God knows what or how they deal w/ them.
I think I have been heating to fast, I boil water and them pour it in a tupperware and drop the mouse in in a seal-a-meal bag and let it sit for about 20 mins this is after it has thawed.
Then I do like you Eddie I put it under the light over the screen and in about 2 mins he is out and looking at me like ok mom feed me.
Being the casual 70's chick that I am I don't own a hairdryer or blow dryer.
I think I will thaw in the room for a couple hours then place under the light for a few and see if that works.
I am about ready to do the dreaded buy alive and thump routine which just sends my son over the edge because he thinks it's cruel

[Marla]

I'll bet it's the Petco-boiling water combo that's doing it. Try a slower thaw and heating process, and if that doesn't fix it, you might want to try a different food source. No hair dryer required.

[Schlyne]

Yeah, I stopped getting F/T mice from petco, they never always seemed like they'd start thawing out on the way home, and I'm like 5 minutes from the store.

[Adam_Wysocki]

I agree with Marla, it's the boiling water ... I use to thaw with hot tap water ... sometimes I would need to empty the water and refill to get the rodent all the way thawed, but the heat of boiling water will soften the skin too much and make their bellies explode.


Hope this helps.

-adam

[gozetec02]

Exploding mice yuck what a mess.