I thaw mine out in hot water in ziplock bags. This takes up to 4 hours for the last really big rat to thaw and warm up (for my adult black blood). I start thawing out all the rodents at the same time in a double sink. As each rat is thawed, I start feeding. Last week I had so much scent going I had one of my balls in shed feed. I had originally offered to my female pastel before I realized she was in shed at the beginning of the process and she refused...by the time I was done feeding everybody she had taken 2 small rats.