It was only the second time I fed him but the rat was the same size as last time. However that was my first thought too that maybe he was fixing it so it could go down smoother. I don't know it just really freaked me out seeing him do that. At first I thought he broke his neck when he struck it initially but then I thought that couldn't have happened because he didn't hit anything but the rat.

I am certain that the rat was thawed, I just didn't have it warm enough when I presented it to him because he wouldn't start swallowing until I reheated with a hair drier.