best way to thaw food

[jarobin]

we are going to feed our bp for the first time today. we have a frozen hopper mouse and i don't know how to thaw it correctly.

also, it was fed outside its tank at the pet store, is it ok if we start feeding it in its tank instead? i was told that it could make them more aggressive when you go to pick them up other times, but how true is that if you use the tongs to feed? this is a snake that my 3 1/2 year old step son handles as well, so we want it as tame as possible. (by handles i mean we will hold it while he pets it)

[Exotic Ectotherms]

I like to thaw rodents by just leaving them sit out at room temperature for a few hours. I used to thaw in hot water, but after a few rats burst when being constricted, I changed my ways real quick...lol.

It is perfectly fine to feed your snake in his/her cage. I wait to feed until it is dark that way the snake knows that anything that comes into the tank after dark is food and anything that comes into the tank during daylight hours (i.e. my hands) is not food. I think they are less apt to refuse food if offered it when it is dark since that is their natural hunting hours.

[wwmjkd]

I like to thaw rodents by just leaving them sit out at room temperature for a few hours. I used to thaw in hot water, but after a few rats burst when being constricted, I changed my ways real quick...lol.

It is perfectly fine to feed your snake in his/her cage. I wait to feed until it is dark that way the snake knows that anything that comes into the tank after dark is food and anything that comes into the tank during daylight hours (i.e. my hands) is not food. I think they are less apt to refuse food if offered it when it is dark since that is their natural hunting hours.

seconded. using hot water is alright in a pinch, but there's always a higher risk of the feeder rupturing and leaving a hell of a mess. I also don't like it because it's possible to cook the rodent slightly, and BPs can't digest cooked food.

what works for me is putting all my rats in separate bags in the fridge and leaving them to defrost overnight. pick an old bowl or something you'll never use for food again just in case anything leaks out. the next evening when the rats are thawed, I heat a cup of water for about a minute iin the microwave and float each bag for 10-20 minutes just to warm it up. the warming definitely helps in my experience, especially when converting a snake from live to frozen/thawed. however, I also think using a separate enclosure for feeding is best. I don't want to risk accidental ingestion of any substrate, and I think it really helps finicky eaters. nothing fancy- just a sterilite tub from target works fine. if a snake associates a small, barren enclosure (with only paper towels) with feeding time, it generally won't expect food when reaching into its home, no matter the time of day.

whatever method you use, make sure to test the feeder's head and hips. those are the thickest parts of the body and the last to thaw completely.

[jarobin]

since we only got our baby a few days ago, is it ok to wait until monday night to feed it? at the store it was fed every friday. we were going to change it to thursdays so that my step son could see it eat. he goes back to his mother thursdays at 5pm and comes back here monday mornings. so, since it would do better being fed at night i would like to wait for night, and i would like for him to see it, will the baby be ok to wait a few more days?

[wwmjkd]

I would certainly defer to anyone on here with more experience than I, but it's my experience that the 'feeding day' itself isn't terribly important so long as you're keeping it about 5-8 days between feedings for new hatchlings. I feed weekly on sunday evenings, but my snakes don't care if they eat on a monday if my weekend is full. after about two-three months or so, I think once a week is sufficient until they're fully grown, at which point you can cut back on frequency and just feed larger prey.

last thing, make sure you're using hemostats (ten dollar word for large tweezers).

[flyingsqueak]

It would be totally fine to wait until Monday night, or even next Thursday to give it time to settle in.

I let my F/T sit out on top of Ari's enclosure for a couple of hours to thaw, and then I heat them up to body temperature with a blow dryer.

[lasweetswan]

It is perfectly fine to feed your snake in his/her cage. I wait to feed until it is dark that way the snake knows that anything that comes into the tank after dark is food and anything that comes into the tank during daylight hours (i.e. my hands) is not food. I think they are less apt to refuse food if offered it when it is dark since that is their natural hunting hours.

I agree! I feed mine in their tank after dark as well. Seems to work consistently for the 1 that I switched from live to f/t.

[Exotic Ectotherms]

I let my F/T sit out on top of Ari's enclosure for a couple of hours to thaw, and then I heat them up to body temperature with a blow dryer.

I also blast my feeders with a blow dryer for a few seconds before offering it to my snakes. It seems to really intensify their feeding response.

[Exotic Ectotherms]

since we only got our baby a few days ago, is it ok to wait until monday night to feed it?

It's probably best to wait until Monday to feed it...that way it is more accustomed to its new home and any stress it had from the move will be gone. I always wait a week to offer food when I get a new snake, no matter when their last meal was.

[tikigator]

what works for me is putting all my rats in separate bags in the fridge and leaving them to defrost overnight. pick an old bowl or something you'll never use for food again just in case anything leaks out. the next evening when the rats are thawed, I heat a cup of water for about a minute iin the microwave and float each bag for 10-20 minutes just to warm it up.

does this make the rats dry after they thaw out? I have tried the water method (putting the bags in water during the day to let them thaw) and also just leaving them set out to thaw, but then when I take the rats out of the bags they are wet and gross and I end up spending more time trying to get them dry when I could getting everyone fed. so maybe if I put them in the fridge they will thaw out slowly and be dry? thanks for the info...