Feeder Heat

[Weather1]

As I was thawing some rats and mice today I was wondering...

Can you make a rat or mouse to Hot for a snake to eat. Or if it is to hot will they just leave it until it cools down.

Is there any danger in feeding food to hot?

Thanks

[Jeff_Favelle]

You get the rodent too warm and it explodes. And that is not a pleasant thing.

[Weather1]

No I do not want them to explode...

But can you burn the snakes mouth from the hot rodent?

[Jeff_Favelle]

I'm not sure I understand your question. If you gave your snake a flaming mouse it would probably burn it! LOL!

Yes snakes can be burned (just like we can). So if it burns your fingers, then yes it will burn your snake. But why on Earth would you heat the rodent up so high? 80-95F is just fine.

[Weather1]

I guess what I am trying to ask is,...

I use boiling water from the kettle and pour it into a cup with a rat/mouse. So after about 20 I feed the snakes. So I guess that The rodent is cooled enought to feed then, since the water cooled in the thaw time.

[Scotty Allen]

..............but, if you plan a little further ahead, you can thaw your mice out at room temperature and avoid any possibility of overheating the mouse in the first place. On top of that, pouring boiling water on a frozen mouse will partially cook it and it gets all mushy. Yuck. It only takes a few hours to completely thaw at room temperature.

[Big Mike]

Why not use hot tap water? It's hot enough to thaw them quicker than room temperature and will cool to a good temp very quickly.

I have mine in plastic bags and put them in a mug with hot tap water. I refresh the hot water once or twice while thawing and then make sure the mice are warm but not hot when I feed them.

[Weather1]

Thanks guys for all the advice.

I will start to thaw at room temp

How many hours does it take to thaw an adult mouse and a rat?

[Scotty Allen]

...........experiment. Once you can gently squeeze the food item and not feel any cold, you're ready to go.

My Sunday morning routine..............get up, get mice from freezer, have breakfast, do what I have to do, have lunch, do what I have to do..........feed snakes.

You can also take required number of rodents from freezer at bedtime and let thaw overnite and feed in the morning. Don't forget them though, they'll be starting to smell when you get home from work.

[Weather1]

Thanks alot

I know it was a dumb question but as my snakes grow, So must the food size, and before pinkies only took minutes. Just making sure they are getting warm food.

Thanks again

[Linds]

Yikes. Yeah I agree with Mike. If you want to thaw your rodents out quickly use nothing hotter than tap water. Not only do you run the risk of burning your snake, but boiling water will cook your rodent, and snakes digestive systems aren't evolved to digest cooked meats. I to thaw mine in hot water, because bacteria triples every 15 minutes, and some of my snakes won't take their food right away, so I like to try and keep bacteria is minimal as I can since it builds in their cage as well after its ready to be fed.

hot tap is the way to go

[Lisa]

No one has mentioned it so i think i will even though you didn't ask about using a microwave. Do NOT use the microwave. It can create hot spots inside the rodent due to the way a microwave heats things up unevenly.

[dlucka]

Can you imagine the mess if you let your mouse a bit too long in the microwave, wiack!!! Noo don't use this.