The strength of a boa is one of their traits that had me so interested in them at first. But it seems the older (and stronger) this little guy gets the more common it is for him the pop his rats open when he constricts them. I don't defrost my rats in water or heat them up with a blow dryer. I guess I'm just venting not really looking for answers but I'll gladly listen to your ideas lol. He is the only snake we have that has to make absolutely sure his dead rat is actually dead. Although his feeding response is very entertaining, the smell of a popped open rat lingering around isn't too pleasant. This is the first time he let the rat go though. When I went to pick it up because I didn't want clumps of eco earth stuck in/on the rat he struck at it and that was it.