Ok, there's your problem I think. Your best bet is to keep everything in place prior to feeding. Do the spot cleaning as needed, rather than at the same time you're feeding. Any kind of disruption can cause a BP to refuse, especially moving their hides.
As for defrosting and heating...I let the prey item defrost in the fridge. Then, my tap water gets hot enough on its own to heat the prey. Depending on the size of the prey, I may have to dump the water and refill it once or twice though. That's enough to heat the prey to approx 100 degrees and serve.
The way you're doing may actually be starting to cook the prey on the outside while the middle is still cold. You shouldn't need 212+ degree water to get to 100 degrees.