Help ASAP Please.

[ride_gnu]

I am going nuts here, I have tried so many different ways to defrost the medium sized rats ive been getting, and they are all splitting open and spewing their insides everywhere, what do I do about this? I really need to feed my BP tonight, is there anway I can do a quick defrost of a rat?

[xanaxez]

fill ur sink full of hot water and let them thaw lol do not put them in a microwave. put then in a bag or ziplock baggie in hot water to thaw.

[ride_gnu]

OK thanks alot, now for the record, I have tried defrosting rats form forzen state, leaving them in the fridge overnight, then defrosting, I have tired putting htem in warm water, leaving them under the heat lamp. And they keep splitting open, how long should I be defrosting my rats for, and when are they perfect temperature for feeding?

[blackcrystal22]

OK thanks alot, now for the record, I have tried defrosting rats form forzen state, leaving them in the fridge overnight, then defrosting, I have tired putting htem in warm water, leaving them under the heat lamp. And they keep splitting open, how long should I be defrosting my rats for, and when are they perfect temperature for feeding?

Theres a couple things you can try here.

First, you could defrost for 20-30 minutes in a plastic baggy under hot running/still water (refresh the warm water every couple minutes) which should avoid any liquid from entering and expanding the body.
Or, you could just leave it out on a counter in your bathroom or kitchen (I know, kinda gross) for half a day or more. Depending on how long it takes to defrost. To warm it from a naturally defrosted state, use a blow dryer to quickly warm it up. Make sure there are no cold spots or frozen spots in the rat somewhere.

[mainbutter]

i have yet to switch my BP to f/t, but when I would feed my corn snake f/t i'd just toss a frozen rodent into a cup of warm water for like 10 minutes, never had any split open..

[blackcrystal22]

i have yet to switch my BP to f/t, but when I would feed my corn snake f/t i'd just toss a frozen rodent into a cup of warm water for like 10 minutes, never had any split open..

Rats are different than mice with f/t, as well as it depends on how old it is and where she got it from.
;]

[ride_gnu]

Well I thawed the rat in the hottest tap water that I could get for about 22 minutes, replacing the water twice. I had no problem with splitting this time, but I am still having a problem with my snake finding the head of the rat, I read that this could be because the head is too cold, I tried heating the head up more than the rest of the body but he still took 15+ minutes to find the head after trying to eat it from the tail. Any ideas why this is?

[drugaria]

Well I thawed the rat in the hottest tap water that I could get for about 22 minutes, replacing the water twice. I had no problem with splitting this time, but I am still having a problem with my snake finding the head of the rat, I read that this could be because the head is too cold, I tried heating the head up more than the rest of the body but he still took 15+ minutes to find the head after trying to eat it from the tail. Any ideas why this is?

This is normal when feeding frozen sometimes it takes them a while, if it takes really long for them to find the head they may leave the rat uneaten, then I use my hair dryer to heat the rat's head a bit and I offer it again. Also to avoid this, try sticking the rats head in the snakes face so it can get a good direct byte.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Some of my ball pythons take 1/2 hour to find the head of a rodent they killed themselves (I have a few stubborn live eaters). I wouldn't worry about it, it's pretty normal. No one said they were the brightest crayons in the box. <lol>

[tigerlily]

I wouldn't worry so much HOW they get the food down, as long as it goes down.