Trouble with F/T

[Aedryan Methyus]

Why?

I used to try to keep them dry with zip lock bags but it never failed that they would leak. Now I just thaw them directly in the water. I even serve them soaking wet.

I don't know how long it would take to thaw a XXL rat by sitting it out and don't care to find out.

I find water to be quick and easy.

I have always just let the rats sit out in my snake room and thaw out to room temperature then I would run the rats directly under hot water at feeding time. I struggled for months getting a couple of my snakes to eat f/t consistently. I would run their rats under hot water then spend 10 minutes puppeteering, heat them back up under hot water again and spend 10 more minutes puppeteering. I repeat this again and again for about 30 minutes on each of these snakes every feeding day and they would refuse to eat for 4 - 8 weeks at a time. On the rare occasion they would eat, they wouldn't even strike and wrap the rats. They would take the rats ever so gently and sorta just drag them off and eat them. Then Zincubus suggested that running them directly under hot water could be washing the rat scent off and that I should use a blow dryer. I followed his advice (only I use an actual heat gun) and the very next feeding both of these guys immediately struck and wrapped the rats the moment I opened their tubs and have been doing so every feeding ever since. Prior to doing things this way (when I was offering soak and wet rats) some of my snakes would never even take the rats directly from me. I would have to just leave them in their tubs. Now, they are also striking and wrapping the moment I open their tubs. As i've said, every snake in the room is a salavitating, ravenous beast at feeding time now. I don't have to mess around for more than a minute with any of my snakes at feeding time now. I think this all adds up to pretty overwhelming evidence that there is definitely something to using this method to feed. I firmly believe that Zincubus is right in his assumption that running the rats directly under hot water (especially over and over again for problem feeders) washes a lot of the rat scent off. I also firmly believe that due to the fact that using a blow dryer/heat gun fills the air with the pungent odor of rat, it sends all of the snakes into a feeding frenzy. The smell is actually pretty gross. I just block it out! lol So, I mean, if I can smell it that good, imagine how well the snakes are smelling it. It's pretty obvious why this works so miraculously...

As far as thawing under hot water, there are plenty of ways of doing that without getting the rats wet. Simply use any plastic bag that doesn't leak and tie it off or don't submerge the top of the bags...