Best way to thaw and feed f/t?

[highqualityballz]

I bought a bp and was told that she eats live and sometimes f/t. When i first got her she refused f/t for about 4-5 months then i offered live and she then ate for the first time for me. I contaced the breeder I got her from asking they're routine exactly for feeding f/t and they told me they put in the oven at 100 degrees for an hour which I refuse to do cause the idiots basically cooked the rats before feeding. Now my question is how can I get her to start eating f/t without cooking the rats cause when I tried in the beginning she didn't even recognize the rats as food and lost close to 100 grams!? Ps I tried heating with blow dryer, hot water etc

[duckschainsaw]

I leave mine out until they thaw completely and are at room temp, then put them in a ziploc and soak them in nice hot water for a few minutes before offering. My snakes are picky. They have to be dry.. or they won't take them.

[kriwu]

I just put my f/t in a plastic ziplock bag, make it airtight by rolling the bag, and set it in a bowl of very warm but NOT boiling water for about 10 mins. I take it out, feel to make sure the head/belly are soft, run it under some hot water for a few seconds just to make sure it's nice and toasty, then pull it out of the bag to give to Barry. Works like a charm, although I hear some people use even a hairdryer or heat lamp to warm it up.

[bcr229]

Thaw overnight in the refrigerator (2 days for jumbo rats and rabbits). For feeding, soak in hot water from the tap, replace water as needed until the feeders are heated through, and offer wet. They eat.

[CptJack]

Thaw overnight in the refrigerator (2 days for jumbo rats and rabbits). For feeding, soak in hot water from the tap, replace water as needed until the feeders are heated through, and offer wet. They eat.

This is what I do. I mean I towel the food off a little bit so it's not dripping on the snake, but that's about it.

I will say that it has to be warm enough. Cooking it? No, but body temp for a rat is about 100 degrees, plus a degree or so. If the food doesn't feel warm to you when you touch it (ie: it's not warmer than you are) it's too cool. Not saying cook it, and it shouldn't be hot/uncomfortable to handle, but if it doesn't feel WARM to you, all the way through, it's not warm enough.

They use heat pits on their face to find food. If it's room temperature, it's not going to be eaten.

[PitOnTheProwl]

100 degrees in a oven isn't going to cook the rat BUT I wouldn't use my oven LoL

Ziplock bag, sink full of hot water, couple plates to weigh down the bag and 30 to 40 minutes.
I do change out the water once or twice.
Then hair dryer to the head.

I don't feed f/t often because most of my snakes will only eat live so unless someone asks me to try and get one on f/t its a rare event.

[jrich]

I let the feeders sit out in the snake room while I'm at work and when it's time to get rolling I put them under a heat lamp until they're warm all the way through. Don't forget about them though... nasty mess/smell.

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

I have 90 snakes currently, so what I do is thaw them out to room temp first. I have a large ultratherm heat mat that I lay some foil down on top of, and lay the rodents out on the foil. It doesn't take too long for the rodents to become warm, and I offer from there. This way, my feeders stay dry (most of my snakes refuse if the rodents are even slightly damp) and warm without having to continue changing out water, or using a hair dryer. I have used both of those other methods when I had a much smaller number of snakes and it is effective, but not for the number of animals I currently have.

[Megg]

I put mine out to thaw (usually on top of their enclosures so they can smell it), and once it's completely thawed I offer it. If they don't take it, I blow dry it and that usually does the trick.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

[SCWood]

I thaw mine in a ziploc. 5 gal bucket half full of hot tap water, flip after 30 minutes. If they are soft all the way through, I lay them out in a container and hit them with my blow dryer to scent the air and get them toasty and my kids NEVER reject when I do this!