As far as soaking in water "washing the scent away", that can be true for some snakes and can be mitigated in one of two ways:
Put rodent in small zip lock baggy and get the air out before you thaw in water.
Use tweezers or tongs to pinch the nose of rodent (hard!) once it's thawed to help release scent & help the snake target the head.
While I don't dry-warm any rodents with a blow-dryer, I'm pretty sure that's going to release a lot more scent anyway.
Most snakes learn to accept rodents thawed in water just fine, but it can be a change from whatever they're used to. Many snakes even prefer rodents
thawed in water: desert & rescued snakes sure don't turn them down, and my TX longnose snake (a lizard feeder by design) has been eating "washed"
mice for 16 years now...he hesitates some on fresh-killed.
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