i also defrost in a ziplock, i dont need a bowl of funky rat bong-water spilling in my bathroom lol. I am on small rats, i start with very warm, but not hot water, sorry i dont have an exact temp. after about 1.5 hours the rat is floppy with no cool spots. Still in the bag i run him under hot but not boiling water for 10 minutes, and then straight into the snake! - but once defrosted its totally floppy and pliable.