A Step in The Right Direction...

[louise]

Originally Posted by Rmk1999

I thawed mine in the sink with hot tap water, but once i didn't use a bag and must have left it in there a bit too long because when i went to pull it out of the sink all the skin slid off the tail. nastiest thing ever!

i went to kill a mouse once for my snake and all the skin came off the tail. i screamed so loud. that was awful!

[buck2003]

I also use hot tap water, place the rats in a plastic bag and let them thaw. The thing is they seem to smell when thawed like this could the water be cooking em even though its not boiling? Also lol I found recently floppy has started going after the tongues not the rat lol? I've had to drop the rat the last few feeds and let him find it.

[lethargiic]

the best way to thaw rats with out is to place them in cold water first.. i use this method with thanksgiving turkey too..lol

I swear this works.. throw your rats directly in cold water for about a 30 mins or so to soften the critter and then put em in hot tap water to warm em up...

what happens is when you just throw the rat/mouse in hot water your immediately "cooking the rat" hence why the skin is so fragile and breaks open easily. when you cold thaw the rat first then put it in the hot water you're warming up the rat faster and you wont have to worry about cooking the insides. i've only done this once and i should really follow my own advice but seriously. try cold thawing it first like i said and see if that works better. it may take a little longer but it's worth not cleaning up the mess or having to smell it..

in louise's case it's worth not losing the tail.. lmao

[louise]

i do the same thing lethargic

[Dbutton]

I am personally against any type of soaking in hot water for frozen feeders. They get all water logged and I also think that it is the primary reason why some snakes refuse the F/T feeders since most of the scent is removed during soaking in hot water.
I thaw mine out on a thawing plate with a basking lamp about 12inches above it. It takes 3-4 hours to thaw out 4 jumbo rats for my adult boas and they are dry and warm when they are done. None of my snakes has ever refused a F/T meal using this method.

[lethargiic]

Originally Posted by Dbutton

I thaw mine out on a thawing plate with a basking lamp about 12inches above it. It takes 3-4 hours to thaw out 4 jumbo rats for my adult boas and they are dry and warm when they are done. None of my snakes has ever refused a F/T meal using this method.

what are your basking temps? hot and cool side and humidity like? If you want optimum thawing your temps should be at least 88deg on the warm and about 80 on the cool with humidity at about 40%

you want happy rats not fried rats.





lol ok ok i just wanted to bring some humour to this subject.. im in a happy bouncy mood right now.

[dystopia]

Originally Posted by Dbutton

I am personally against any type of soaking in hot water for frozen feeders. They get all water logged and I also think that it is the primary reason why some snakes refuse the F/T feeders since most of the scent is removed during soaking in hot water.
I thaw mine out on a thawing plate with a basking lamp about 12inches above it. It takes 3-4 hours to thaw out 4 jumbo rats for my adult boas and they are dry and warm when they are done. None of my snakes has ever refused a F/T meal using this method.

Umm, i used to use water and they dont get water logged if you put them in a baggie with no holes in it. A few times i used an old bag when i was out of ziplocs and it got wet but my snake just loved it more it seemed, just was a lil more messy.

Now since its winter, i put it in the baggie and stick it over one of my heat vents for couple hours.

And the only time Ive ever had the rat smell was if i heated it too quickly and cooked it. Maybe its just my source (local petstore white lab rats, nothing special) or something but my rats never smell when thawed.

Jer

[JuliusSqueezer]

Yeah! What's wrong with you people? Never heard of ziplocks or vacuum seal bags? lol

Here's a tip for you sink soakers. Put them in a large mixing bowl (in baggies) Fill with scalding hot water. Cover them with a smaller upside down bowl. Check back after awhile...depending on how many and what size and how much time you have to thaw. Changing the hot water often speeds up the process. It takes me awhile here sometimes because I might be thawing 15-20 pounds of rat or more at a time. But somedays I just need to feed a certain small group of something and can knock the whole thing out in 15-20 minutes this way.

[pandora1985]

Once, my bp ripped the head off a rat while "killing" it. The rat was frozen/thawed so I guess the freeze weakened it? Anway she ate the head then went for the body....gross.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.