I do pretty much the same thing except I put it in a large ziploc freezer bag and weigh it down in the warm water so I don't need to dry it off. And the sink doesn't smell like warm, dead rat afterwards Also I reuse the same bag, just rinse it every once in a while and let it dry out for next time I only have one snake so one rat is nothing, but those freezer bags could hold alot of rats and a bathtub would work just as well for someone with many mouths to feed at once