How do you thaw frozen mice/rats?

[Mike Schultz]

Warm water

I put a few quarters in a baggie with my frozen prey inside so that it sinks under the water and defrosts the rodent without getting it soaking wet.

[blackcrystal22]

With picky feeders I use plastic bags.

With everyone else I don't.
I run them under warm water consistently for about 20 minutes.

Also, I've been feeding f/t to my corn for about 3 years, and have never had a busted belly. ;]

[claireree]

I put my mice into a jam jar with hot water and then refresh the water again once they have defrosted just before I feed them so they are nice and warm.

[extensive]

i throw em all in a tub of HOT water and wait an hour or so... i really dont even dry them off. its more water for the snake.

12+ years and no busted rodents.

[BWP]

I put the frozen rat in a ziploc bag and put it on the floor for about 4 hours.

[Sugr]

I put them in a ziplock and leave it open. I set that on top of the tank to let the scent fill the tank as they thaw. After a couple hours, I seal the bag back up, throw them in hot water for a couple minutes on each side, and present them to the snakes, making them dance with my forceps. They snatch them up and constrict like they're live.

[starmom]

I thaw them at room temp near all of the snakes.

When the rodent tummies are thoroughly smooshy, I open the bag and really allow the scent to permeate the snake enclosures. By this time, it is about 9pm and the snakes are on the hunt!!

I take each rodent and warm them further with a blow dryer for about a minute.

Result?

Happy snakes!!!

[Blue Apple Herps]

I put them in a zip-loc bag and put that in the snake-room with the bag open to scent the room for an hour or so, then put them in the hottest water that comes from the tap until they're fully thawed and pretty warm. By then all of the snakes are at the front of their tubs ready to eat.

[Mr. Constrictor]

I just finish wright this on my cheezey web site:

This is how I feed f/t.

Defrosting:

After I select my feeder(s) I place them in a sealed bag inside an old pot (used only for defrosting feeders) with warm to hot water. Do not make the water to hot because you don't want to start cooking the feeders. I bring the pot with the feeders in to the reptile room (In my case its my bedroom) and let them sit there to defrost. You may feel the need to change the water if it gets to cold depending on how many or how big your feeders are. You do not have to change the water because the feeders will still defrost in cold water. it just takes longer. The reason I leave the defrosting feeders in the same room as my snakes is because it scents the room, making them more likly to eat.

After the feeders are done defrosting I use a hair dryer to heat them up. Using a Temp gun I try to get the head of the rat up to 90-100 deg. I heat up the whole body but pay most attention to the head.

Feeding:

I have both a 24in Tweezer and Hemostat. I use which ever I grab first and hold the feeder by the skin on the back of there neck. I open the cage door or pull out the rack draw and wiggle the feeder a few inches from the snakes head. DO NOT stick the feeder right up to the snake's face or touch it to him. This can and most of the time will scare the snake and he will not eat. Remember to be safe when feeding. that why the long tweezers. When I feed my bigger snakes I pull out the rack draw out a little bit and place the rat on top of the tub wall so the rat is half in and half out. I close the draw leaving enough room for the rat to be pulled in. From the outside on the rack I gently tug on the rats tail with my tweezers. This works for me and keeps me safe from a missed strike.

[Crusader71]

i just take the mice throw in a ziploc bag and put that in a coffee mug and fill it with hot water. Let it sit there for 5-10 min then its good to go
Mark