(Frozen/Thawed Feeders) Are the mice supposed to look like this?

[glowstick]

Context: I’ve only had my ball pythons for about a year- and many mistakes have been made, and I’m definitely still learning, but I don’t want the consequences of said learning to be taken out on my snakes. My youngest was getting bitten by her food and I decided that yeah, watching them hunt isn’t worth it. That being said i know even less about what I’m doing than usual

its a bit wet from freezer frost, and has been in luke warm water to get the center thawed out- but is this what the mouse’s stomach is supposed to look like?? thank you in advance! (not going to offer this one to my snakes just in case...)

[WhompingWillow]

Looks fine to me. The younger the rodent the more translucent the belly area is when thawed. Just take care not to over thaw (ie, in too hot of water for too long).

[Dianne]

I’ll second what Willow said. Younger rodents seem to have less or thinner fur which makes the belly look darker. This one looks fine. Speaking from experience, you don’t want to thaw in water that’s too hot as it makes the rodents more prone to breaking open. Not pretty. I usually thaw mine in water that’s about the temperature of a warm bath, adding a little more hot tap water just before feeding to bump up the temperature of the rodent.

[Bogertophis]

Looks fine to me too. I only thaw in cold water, until soft thru-out. Then & only then, I immerse in warm water briefly just so they aren't so cold. I'm not feeding
BPs by the way- none of my snakes need their rodents blow-dried. Even my Aussie spotted python (has heat pits too) doesn't really care about temperature.

BTW, since the rodents get wet even in the baggy, I thaw all rodents directly in water, then blot them off on paper towels & serve. They thaw faster in direct
contact with water (I've tried it both ways).

Also- thawing in warm water seems like the obvious way to do it, but especially in larger rodents that take a while to thaw all the way thru, warm water encourages spoilage. That's why I use cold tap water (change a time or two if it gets super cold), & only when thawed will briefly use very warm water.

Never thaw rodents by leaving them out on the counter. I know some people do that with the meat for their own dinner, but our rodents don't eat cooked
food & sitting out allows bacterial growth that (unlike in our own meat) won't be killed by cooking. Best way- thaw in fridge since the cold slows bacterial
growth on our food as well as theirs, or thaw in cold water (-the fastest way).

[Bogertophis]

Note: last sentence, meant to say our "snakes don't eat cooked food..." (not rodents, lol- sorry, I was multi-tasking & too late to fix)

[artgecko]

Looks fine to me.
I hated thawing in water and decided to try a dryer method. It has worked very well for me, so I'll list what I do below in case you want to give it a try.

24 hours prior to feeding I put frozen feeders in a ziploc bag in the fridge to thaw overnight slowly.

About 2-4 hours before feeding I take the baggie out and sit it in the snake room to come up to room temp.

Right before feeding, I use a hair dryer to heat up the rodent to average rodent body temp, making sure the head is a little warmer than the rest of the body.

Feed using tongs to wiggle the rodent to simulate movement.

I have LOVED not having to deal with wet rodents and have not had any refusals due to the change in heating process.