what is the fastest way to defrost a rat?

[UpscaleBoas]

hate waiting so long...any tricks to speed this along

[ryan337]

I put them in hot water before I feed them.

[Invictus]

Hot water.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

I like to stick them in the fridge the night before, that way all that is needed is to warm them from the fridge. I usually stick them under a hot light until they are warm enough, warming time depends on the size of the rodent of cource. I have noticed if they are warmed to fast they tend to get mushy, and even just goo all over the place when snakes feed on them. Kinda gross...lol.

[mark129er]

I thaw mine either in the fridge or at room temp, my girl won't even look at them unless I warm them on a heat pad before I offer them to her.

[mice4you]

Be carefull using hot water to thaw small stuff like pinks. Hot water thins their skin. When you feed the pinks to a snake, they can "pop" and squirt fluids.

For this reason, I prefer to thaw them in the reptile room. This way they thaw well and evenly.

[Jayson]

I also thaw at room temps, I just put out what i will need the night before. Anything smaller then a medium rat i just warm up with hot water.

[mykee]

Hot tap water really works well for me.

[AlexPan]

hey guys i have found a much cheeper way for feeding snakes! I use chicken meet dipped in the eggs for protains. They seem to like it but ocasionally i do give them Dwarf Hamsters just incase for extra nutrions.

[mark129er]

cheaper yes, good for the snakes, probably not.

[Scotty Allen]

Plan ahead and leave them out overnight to thaw at room temperature.

[Linds]

Originally posted by mark129er
cheaper yes, good for the snakes, probably not.

Yup. Definitely not good for the snake. If you are not feeding whole prey items your snake is not getting all the nutrients. The bones are an important source of calcium for snakes, as well as all the other parts have their own nutritional balance. Reptiles have a slower metabolism so it won't show up immediately, but if continued to be fed that way, it will become malnutritioned for sure.

If looking to save money, and the collection has several animals in it, breeding may be an option. I have over 200 rats and a small colony of mice and only spend roughly $60 CDN a month on them :)

[UpscaleBoas]

i ahve too agree..to many issues feeding chicken...not a great idea....think i'm gonna stick with the fresh dead mice...much easier for me and my life style ... thanks all

[TheRedDragon]

Wet thaw in hot water.

[KaHane]

Our feeders are in vacummed sealed bags. We just put the bags in a sink of hot tap water and when they are dethawed, we serve:D another way is put them in ziplock bags if yours are not in sealed bags. That way the rodents never get wet.

[chas*e]

Hot water is slow but good ....microwave is fast but it cooks the rodents.....for added nutrients read vitamin charts and inject the food item with whatever....I have a secret mixture of Vitamins that I inject my (dead) rodents. I them feed my snakes the "Vitaminized" rodent depending on the specific snakes food/medical chart. I also administer medical needs to my snakes this way(rodent injected) when needed, also depending on the situation.

[BoidKeeper]

Plan ahead and leave them out overnight to thaw at room temperature.
I also use this method.
Cheers,
Trevor
PS
Never ever use the microwave.

[stevesemerko]

Am I the only one who thaws in cold water and then lets them sit at room temp for a little while to let them warm up? This method has worked fine for me. The mice (rats, whatever) sit in the cold water for 30mins and then sit out on newspaper for 5-10 mins and they are nice and warm. Sometimes it may take longer however.

Steve

[Auskan]

I freeze mine in ziploc bags. Then to defrost I just put the whole ziploc bag in hot water. Eliminates any problems of the water breaking down the skin as someone mentioned here earlier.

[BoidKeeper]

It's not just the water, it's the heat that breaks down the skin.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Linds]

I wouldn't say water does anything to break down the cell structure, high heat (rapid defrost) may contribute and freezing has a major effect.

I personally like to thaw mine as quick as possible because bacteria triples every 15 minutes (or something like that), and a few snakes want their food left in their cage overnight before they will eat it (more bacteria), or some may refuse to take their food so I will ocassionally toss it in the fridge and try again the next day. So leaving it out at room temp is out of the question for me... hot water only :)

[Invictus]

Originally posted by Linds
I personally like to thaw mine as quick as possible because bacteria triples every 15 minutes (or something like that), and a few snakes want their food left in their cage overnight before they will eat it (more bacteria), or some may refuse to take their food so I will ocassionally toss it in the fridge and try again the next day. So leaving it out at room temp is out of the question for me... hot water only :) [/B]

I concur 100% on this one.... the bacteria, not to mention the rate of decomposition, is a far bigger threat than a loss of nutrients due to cellular breakdown.

But, as mentioned, microwaves are an absolute no no. I've heard of rodents literally exploding in microwaves, not to mention the cooking of the internal organs... bad. Just plain bad.

[Wuntu Menny]

C4

WM

Well you did say the fastest way! LOL!!