Have a messy eater...

[jakespade]

One of my BP's is a messy eater. The first feed he lunged at the heated up frozen fuzzy. Upon contact and constriction the fuzzy split. I rechecked the heating instructions and the second feeding wasn't so messy. Before I handled him, I transported him to the tub to wash him up a bit.

This time he squished the fuzzy and had some food residue on him. I put him in a warm bath to rinse him before replacing him in his cage.

What's the standard protocol for cleaning a messy eater?

[Archimedes]

I think the first issue would be with your heating method. In order to keep them together a little better, try sticking the feeder in the fridge overnight before feeding day, the same way you would for a chicken breast when you want to cook it for dinner. Let it be thawed, but still cold by the time you go to warm it up.

As far as cleaning up goes, I've had a blowout just once, and I just rinsed him off once he was finished eating and out of feed mode before leaving him alone to relax after such a traumatic experience.

[jakespade]

Thanks a bunch. Never thought to thaw before heating but makes perfect sense!
I really try not to stress my boys at all but I don't want them to contaminate their home with good particles. I usually take advantage of the time they are feeding to spot clean the cage, wash the water bowl and check the substrate for dampness from spraying. I usually take it all out and scrub every 2-3 weeks.

[Archimedes]

No problem! Yeah, sometimes that sudden adjustment from frozen to warm can thin membranes and tissues that you sort of want to stay together if you don't want a mess, lol. You can accomplish the same thing the day of, if you wanted, by letting it sit in cool water before changing it to warm. Just eases that transition and keeps the tissues from thinning out.