Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What's the best way to defrost a frozen mouse? Do any of the techniques affect the scent as far as the snake is concerned?

The best way by far is to leave the rodent out either 12 hrs prior or overnight in room temperature (depending on the size of the prey). I found that the last minute hot/warm water thaw technique either cooks the outside of the rodent, or doesnt fully defrost the inside- in most cases.

"The best way by far is to leave the rodent out either 12 hrs prior or overnight in room temperature"

This is a good way to grow bacteria on a prey item. You want to keep the frozen prey in the danger zone for bacteria growth for as little time as possible. I believe the maximum time for human consumption is 4 hours, per the health dept. The best way is to thaw it in your refrigerator until it is completely unfrozen and then warm it up quickly with hot water.

"This is a good way to grow bacteria on a prey item. You want to keep the frozen prey in the danger zone for bacteria growth for as little time as possible."

Im not sure where you are getting your information, but you wont get bacteria growth on a frozen rodent for thawing it in room temperature (65-70 degrees or so) for 12 hrs or so. Especially now in the winter, where the average house temp is lower than in the summer. The recommended time of thawing depends on the size of prey. Obviously a small mouse can be fully thawed in much less time than a jumbo rat. I've had much better feeding success in slow thawing rather than cooking/heating the rodent which usually leads to smelly prey that the snake is less likely to want. To each his own.

either way you look at it, i should avoid fast defrosting is what you're basically saying. recently i have tried the mouse in a bag, bag in hot water trick. the mouse defrosts in about 30-45 minutes but my burm, Jasmine, is hesitant to take it. Thanks for the input.

Yea basically. I used to defrost that way many years ago but one of my pythons kept refusing it till a breeder recommended me leaving it out for a few hours (depending on size) to evenly defrost the inside and outside of it. By defrosting this way you also avoid the internal organs gushing out and the foul odor often associated with quick thawing using hot water. Especially when the prey item becomes larger (jumbo rats, rabbits), its very difficult to thaw the inside without unintentionally cooking the outside. Good luck.