Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

We normally take the f/t rats out of the freezer the night before and let them de-thaw in the fridge overnight (we have a dedicated animal freezer/fridge). From there we warm them up in hot water then feed out.

My question.

Anyone have a better way of warming out the rats? Would leaving them out for a few hours at room temps warm them up enough? Would that cause bacteria problems?

Would love to hear some ideas!

We thaw ours in the fridge, then set them on our "hotplate" and let them get to room temperature. Then turn on the "hotplate and it warms them to about 110 degrees.

The "hotplate" is four pieces of flexwatt that we have running through a switch. It sits on top of one of our racks and has a piece of reflectix between it and the rack so we don't heat the cage below. The flexwatt is on full blast because it doesn't run through a thermostat, so it's not something you want to turn on and forget about. Small items heat in just a few minutes, larger items take 10 to 15 minutes.

It works pretty good for us.
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

What I do is defrost them overnight in the fridge -- about an hour before feeding time I'll pull them out and take them up to the snake room -- by the time I get up there to feed them there right around room temp -- I'll stick them under a heat lamp for 5-10 minutes and feed.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

I put the frozen rodents in the snake room to thaw out fir a few hours. When I'm ready to feed I hit the rodents up with a blow dryer to give it a heat signature on the nose and circulate the rat smell.
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1.0 Columbian RTB
1.0 Orange Ghost BP
1.0.3 Mojave BP
0.1 Fire BP
0.1 Spider BP
4.2 Pastel BP
1.0 100% Het Pied BP
1.1 100% Het Caramel BP
1.0 100% Het Albino BP
0.1 100% Het Orange Ghost BP
0.1 Mudd Slide BP (50% het alb)
0.9.1 Normal BP - (2 - 66% het alb, 2 - 50% het pied)
0.0.6 Eggs in the incubator

Yup-- I put them in the fridge the nite before- I put mine in a frying pan (ironic i know)-- b/c my husband wigs out if the ice from the bags drips onto any "people food" ...

put them in fridge over nite- and about an hour before, i set them on the stove (still in pan makes it more funny if company comes over- hehehe)...

then I generally don't have to heat them up more than to room temp... most of the things here that are on f/t will eat anything-- I just feel them real good and make sure its totally 'squishy' (done thawing...)

~Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Drying dead mice and rats with a blow dryer Ive Done it,and its all in the wrist LOL
now the direct sun on my BBQ lids for 2hrs in the morning Sun in a sealed vacuum bag so no condensation inside the bag...btw dont forget about them to long or their tails will fall off feeding out (cooked)

I thaw in warm water, not hot water, warm water.
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PHLdyPayne

I've been just setting them out at room temps for nearly 20 years. I've never had a problem. Some snakes are opportunistic feeders and will feed on any animal they think they can eat, which includes carion. Right now, I set them in my garage where it's about 90-100.

Good luck.
Brandon Osborne
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

I thaw in a cooler...cooler keeps the water warm...feed right out of the cooler.
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com
www.LibertyReptiles.com

I have always used 1 gallon water jugs, take a razor and cut the spout off, so the handle remains, put rats or mice in the jug(s) and draw HOT water from garage sink or bathtub and change the water 2-4 times (depending how many rats per "gallon" and change water at 10-15 minute intervals. This thaws them very quickly, without producing liquified rat/mouse slime, and contains a very good heat signature. I dry them out in a blanket of paper towels and keep them covered to retain heat as I feed one by one. You can dry a few (6-12) rats at a time to keep them warm - and keep them covered. This way you don't have to wait overnight, or for hours and it is an effective and non-damaging thawing method for rats and mice. Don't be afraid to draw hot water, they can take it.

John

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I thaw in the fridge, then an hour or couple hours (depending on how much I'm warming) before feeding I put them on a human heating pad and cover them with a tupperware container to keep the heat in.