Can you defrost feeders in oven at 170F?

[Michelle.C]

Update: My snake wont eat it. He seems to be cuddling with the rat and kissing it, but not swallowing.

This is the first time I am feeding my snake, as I got him from a friend.

What do I do with the rat now? Just throw it out? Refreeze it?

I would not recommend refreezing it. If you have another snake, monitor, etc. Offer it to them. Otherwise, toss it; however, since it's f/t, I'd leave it in the cage with him overnight. You never know, he might eat it sometime in the night.

Did your friend specify if he was taking f/t or live? Mice or Rats? Did you allow him a week to acclimate? What temperatures are you keeping him at? Do you have two hides for him? What is his humidity? Please share information on how you are keeping him.

[chrisdab]

I came back and watched him feeding. That was pretty cool.

In the future, what is the best way to thaw frozen rats? I dont want to leave the feed out all day to spoil and ziplock bags in water can still get it water inside the bag.

[Buttons]

There's a few different ways to thaw them. The 2 I use most often are...

Letting it sit out during the day
Placing the rat in a ziploc bag in warm water for 30mins (do it twice to be sure it's thawed)

The rat getting wet isn't that big of a deal. Just dry it off with a towel before feeding

[Nate]

I have a heat pad that I use to warm them up after they're thawed. Works quite nicely - although, it does get hot. I've had my experiences with explosions. not fun

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Let thaw for hours, then heating pad.

Exploding rats are terrible, as is the mess/time with FT. Makes me wish I fed more live, and I may do this as the collection grows.


JonV

[Anarchy]

rodents in the stove !!!!! crazy !! and freaking funnny !!!

[ThyTempest]

Also, not everyone uses ziplocs.

We used to, and then it just got rediculous that we were using a ziploc every week, $$. Now we just use the same pot every week with warm water for an hour or two. I let the prey drip off a bit before feeding, but they get it still pretty wet. I am sure the extra moisture is helping to keep them better hydrated, and it saves us time and money for thawing.

[mainbutter]

Placing the rat in a ziploc bag in warm water for 30mins (do it twice to be sure it's thawed)

This is a great way to do it. Make sure the rat is warm before feeding, BPs and any other snake with heat pits rely on heat signature for locating prey.

Some people don't even use ziplocs and don't seem to have any problems at all.