Quote Originally Posted by Jeo123 View Post
I use the water trick as well. I put the rat in a bag to keep it dry, squeeze out the air as best I can, then put that in another bag and fill that with hot water. Leave it there for about 25-30 minutes, then drain and refill the bag with the water on pure hot to get the temp up(Pure hot the entire time makes for bad thaws and bloody rats i found). I use the bag instead of a bowl because the bags float and you get a hot/frozen side thing going unless you constantly flip it.

I'll sometimes try putting the rat on top of the cage under the heat lamp after to scent the tank a little, but nothing's been working lately.
Have you tried the hair dryer method on a completely thawed rat/mouse? Been doing this for several years on my adult bp and now my pastel and jcp are on it. I use a plastic tupperware/butter tub and get the rat good and hot especially around the head. Hit it with my temp gun then dangle it with tongs. The balls strike immediately but sometimes have to do the zombie dance for the jcp.