dethawing rabbits

[LINEBACKER 2]

What the quickest and best way to dethaw a 3 pound frozen rabbit?

I'm going to attempt to put my boa on a diet of frozen as opposed to live.

Steve

[lostwithin]

just put it back in the freezer... lol,
Sorry couldn't resist, too thaw out a rabbit stick it in a plastic bag, and then that into a container (or sink) of warm water then wait.
You’ll know its thawed enough when you can squeeze it without feeling a cold center, then I would replace the warm water with HOT water and let it sit in the (inside the plastic bag) for another 10 minutes.

The plastic bag is not necessary but it does seem too increase feeding response.

Good luck.
Devon

[Scales Zoo]

I've tried the plastic bag, but i end up getting a hole in it, every time and getting the rabbit wet. Now I just put them in cold water, let them thaw, then use warm water to warm them up a bit.

Drying with towels gets them pretty dry.

Ryan

[Derrick]

why would it matter if its dry or not?? I dont feed rabbits yet but all my rodents come out of the bucket and straight into the cages.

[Invictus]

When I was feeding rabbits, I'd just put the whole rabbit into a sink full of hot water. I didn't bother using the cool water first, since it still takes about an hour, even in hot water. Don't worry about feeding the rabbit wet - snakes need water too. :) Just get it dry enough so it's not dripping and feed it to the snake wet. That's what I did anyway.

[Retic chic]

The rabbit from Val and Elvin (Falconridge) was in a vacuum pack bag. It did not leak at all, I was able to put the thawed rabbit into the sink with hot water, it warmed up perfectly, and was warm and dry when the rock python snatched it away.

[Piers]

I find that wet gets a better feeding resonce.
I used to just take the rabbit out in the morning and when I got home from work I'd then put in front of the heater till it was warm enough.
Piers

[BOAS_N_PYTHONS]

LINEBACKER 2:

I just prepare early with getting them out of freezer like 9:00 AM and putting them in tupperware and let them stand thawing naturally during the day. Around 5 or 7 PM they ready to feed, so I only use room temp thaw them out.

Cya...

Tony

[LINEBACKER 2]

And if they're not accepted, it's okay to re-freeze them?

Steve

[mykee]

I hear of people doing it, but I would not. Bacteria and the such, but ultimately, it's your call.

[nita]

I have refrozen food as long as it has been thawed less than an hour. Anything over that is tossed. Thankfully I thaw only what I want my picky eaters to eat and if they all eat then I thaw for my two garbage bins :) Mind you they are both switching to rabbits since my sister is managing 20 rabbits a month with 3 females and one male I can get 8 from her wich will feed my two for the month. She has more now too but have to wait till they are 6 months to breed. I have two balls that eat anything, mice, rats, gerbils, a degu and this week we try rabbits. I think my balls think they are boas or bloods!!