Thaw feeder rats?

[Ooo]

Am I doing it the wrong way? I searched it up and it said that you should leave the rat in cold water before putting it in hot water? Can you just put the rat in hot water? That how I have been doing it.

[Kingdomall]

I put the rat in a bag in a cup and fill it up with the hottest sink water. it retains the smell and it doesn't stick to bedding as much as a wet rat does. they're just afraid of you cooking the rat. never boil the water or cook the rat.
that's my experience at least.

[Faith.luu]

Cold water is an option but takes longer to thaw. And hot water can easily spoil the meat. So your best bet is to start off with warm/room temperature water, and increase the temp of the water slightly when you need to heat it up.

I would recommend placing the rat in room temperature water for about an hour- hour and 1/2, and replacing the water every 30 minutes. Then when your rat is squishy and the head doesn’t feel cold, place it in warm water(about 85-95) for about 5-15 minutes. That should make the rat warm enough so that your snake can detect it.

[Absololol]

I plonk them straight into cold water and then wait... That's about it. Never had any issues. I think cold water is used mainly to stop bacteria multiplying as the rodent defrosts.

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[Jane-Pythons]

Personally I start by putting the mouse or rat in warm water, leaving it in the tub for 5-15 minutes (longer wait for bigger food for me) then I drain that, and replace it with warmer, almost hot water but never boiling, for then another 10ish minutes. Then dry it off and wala, feast for a snake. Never encountered any reluctance from my 2 snakes using this method.

[Craiga 01453]

Personally I start by putting the mouse or rat in warm water, leaving it in the tub for 5-15 minutes (longer wait for bigger food for me) then I drain that, and replace it with warmer, almost hot water but never boiling, for then another 10ish minutes. Then dry it off and wala, feast for a snake. Never encountered any reluctance from my 2 snakes using this method.

I do exactly the same up until drying. I prefer to feed wet prey as long as the snake will take it (very rarely snakes will only take dry prey). The added hydration definitely won't hurt.
I've been using this technique for 15 years or more and it's always worked.

[Jane-Pythons]

I do exactly the same up until drying. I prefer to feed wet prey as long as the snake will take it (very rarely snakes will only take dry prey). The added hydration definitely won't hurt.
I've been using this technique for 15 years or more and it's always worked.

I can't say I've ever tried feeding wet prey but that's interesting, I might trial that if any of mine ever decide to get fussy all of a sudden!

To OP, with bigger prey like rats (or anything I suppose) at least on my end I'd check that the center / inside is thawed and soft also - sometimes it can be decieving when they're warm and squishy on the outside then you give it a feel and the inside is still cold and sometimes hard, so I always double check but it just means leaving it for a few more minutes. As long as the prey is well sourced, water is clean etc then it's easy peasy.

[Zincubus]

Well after years of keeping all manner of snakes from Burms to Garter snakes and just about everything in between I’ve encountered all kinds of feeding preferences..

In MY experience , bearing in mind I’m
in the UK and we don’t feed LIVE is that Royals are by far the most difficult ones to get feeding on anything like a regular basis .

My routine with all mine now is to thaw naturally in the snake room in hours before feeding , the rodents are then fully thawed and none of their natural smell / aroma is washed off by thawing in water ...

Bearing in mind many suggest rubbing the mice /rats in hamster or mouse bedding to make them MORE smelly I don’t see the sense in washing their natural smell away ..


Anyways ... I only try feeding in the evening and in dim / low lighting .
Royals have to feel secure so I wait until they’re settled under a hide then give the mouse /rat a good blast with a hairdryer then INSTANTLY dangle the food in front of the hide entrance.

In the unlikely instance that it’s not immediately grabbed you just give it another blast and keep repeating.
Even If the snake isn’t normally a good eater by keep warming and offering you kinda get it into feeding mode ..

Oh and when they get to a year old I go to feeding every 10 to 14 days instead of weekly and get 100% success .

[Mr. Misha]

I throw the rats from my garage freezer into a ziploc bag and thaw out naturally. At night,p (I usually feed after 9pm) I fill up a plastic container with hottest sink water and leave the ziploc bag for about 10 minutes. Then the feeding begins. Been working for me for small and medium rats.