Exploding Rat!

[butterballpython]

I've been thawing rats by putting them in a plastic bag and putting that bag in really hot water for about 45 minutes, then taking it out to cool down to around 105 degrees. Today I prepared Brickle's rat, and when I patted it dry, the stomach wall opened a little and it bled some. I gave it to Brickle, who grabbed it and squeezed all its innards out. It stinks!!! I mean it really stinks. Will he be OK? He had a death grip on the thing, and there was no taking it back. Do I need to wash him off? I know you're not supposed to disturb them for 48 hours after eating, but I'm in another room and can smell it. Eeeewwww!!!

[AlexisFitzy]

Yeah you'll definitely want to clean that up having guts in the enclosure and on your snake is pretty gross. But thawing out rats in hot water and thawing them too fast usually leads to the skin on the rat getting thin and splitting. That's why I stopped thawing in water because I got sick of cleaning rat guts lol. I usually just let them thaw at room temp for a couple hours then heat them with a hair dryer and having had one pop since sorry about that big stinky mess though. Those rat guts are pretty rank


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[butterballpython]

Freak-out over. I went in there to clean it up, but Brickle beat me to it. It looks like he managed to swallow the innards too, and the smell is going away. I told him what a good boy he is. He even looks clean. Whew. I'll change out the cypress mulch where the rat exploded even though I can't see anything.

[butterballpython]

Yeah you'll definitely want to clean that up having guts in the enclosure and on your snake is pretty gross. But thawing out rats in hot water and thawing them too fast usually leads to the skin on the rat getting thin and splitting. That's why I stopped thawing in water because I got sick of cleaning rat guts lol. I usually just let them thaw at room temp for a couple hours then heat them with a hair dryer and having had one pop since sorry about that big stinky mess though. Those rat guts are pretty rank


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Thank you. The water was simmering when I put it in the container with the rat. Now I'll go do Bubbles's rat and not use water that's so hot. That was pretty bad. Thanks again.

[Slim]

I thaw with water no hotter than what comes out of the tap.

[Willowy]

Yeah, not too hot. Simmering is definitely too hot!

The best way I've found to do it is to take them out of the freezer the night before, and put them in the fridge. That way they're thawed by feeding time the next night. Then I put them in hot water (just tap hot, not simmering) for about 10-15 minutes. If I forget to thaw them the night before, I put them in warmish/tepid water for an hour or so to thaw, then warm them in hot tap water like usual. No explosions since I started doing it that way!

[butterballpython]

Thank you. I'll chalk it up to a newbie mistake--one I never plan to make again. Bubbles's rat is thawing in warm water, not hot.

[chrid16371]

45 minutes is usually to long for regular hot tap water depending on the size of the feeder. I use the hottest water from the tap and check small rats every 10 minutes and anything smaller every 5. Usually my small rats are done in 20-30 minutes, just check for frozen and cold spots. Then to get them up to the right temp take a hairdryer or heat gun and blast the head of the rat until it's up around 100 or a little more also you can heat the body a little with the hairdryer also but it doesn't have to be as hot as the head, the head IMO is the most important part since it gives a good heat signature and somewhere for the snake to aim.

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[Caspian]

I use hot tap water, no hotter than what comes out of the tap. Thaw them in that, then dump and get fresh hot tap water to get them nice and warm. I tried the blow-dryer method, but find that no matter how long I leave them under the heat, by the time I turn it off, pick them up, and offer them to the snake, the external temperature has cooled off too much. Soaking in water gets the internal and external temperatures up enough, and takes longer to cool down. I've considered getting a heat lamp, and seeing if that works better than the blow-dryer.

[butterballpython]

Thanks.

At least Brickle is a good eater. Bubbles didn't touch her rat again.