what is the fastest way to defrost a rat?

[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!!