Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At feeding time, I put the mice that I've thawed out (usually the night before I'll take some from the freezer and put them in a freezer bag in the fridge) in a tupperware of warm/hot water out of the faucet. Then I go about cleaning cages or changing water or whatever, until the thawed mice are warm like body temperature.

My question is, can I inadvertantly cook these mice with hot water right out of the tap? I've seen no adverse effects from doing it like this but I don't have any idea how much warmth is required to actually cook a mouse.

Thanks.
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

I used to think the same thing but they don't have to be warm. They can be cold and the snake will still take it. I've never heard of one refusing a cold mouse over a warm one. I thaw mine with warm water not hot. Sometimes you can cook them, and while the snake is swallowing it, the mouse will break open with mushy guts all hanging out. lol Happens every time they're cooked. The snake still gets it down but it makes a nasty mess.
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Muhammad Ali

I thaw my mice in hot water from the tap and have never had a problem. I just plop them in the water and let them thaw until they're nice and soft.

Ditto - I have a ceramic mixing bowl that I use to mix muffin mix - but since it is ceramic, it holds heat nicely. I fill it with hot tap water, drop in the frozen rodents, and put a pot lid over it. About half an hour later - the mice are properly thawed.

Yes - I thoroughly clean it before making muffins ...
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I decided my old sig was too big.

I had been warming them in plastic bags in hot water to keep them dry. But I feed them in tupperware containers, no substrate, so it shouldn't matter at all that they're wet I guess.
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

I just lay them out on a paper towel on top of one of the cages and let them sit there for a few hours till they're thawed... I've never had a problem with a snake refusing a chilly meal, and they still smell like mouse, so the snakes pounce on them pretty quickly... I never had a problem with substrate sticking to them until I switched over from Carefresh to aspen, so I'll need to adjust my routine...
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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Red Belly Piranha
1.0 Australian Shepherd

I don't know...I've always been partial to the nutty muffins.

Like one of the other posters said, you can thaw them out in very hot water but sometimes if it is too hot, then the bellies can break open, creating a nice and nasty view of their innards.

It all can depend on the individual tap as well. The one in my house is way hotter than the one in our old apt.

I simply just use a small plastic drink cooler, throw in whatever mice or rats or both I am thawing out, use hot, but not scalding tap water, and in 15-30 minutes they are done. I then use salad tongs and take each one out one by one, dry them off with a paper towel, and then put them all on a tray I use to take in the snake room.

Been doing that for at least the last 18 years.
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Genesis 1:1