Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just wondering, how do you guys thaw out your mice or rats for your snakes? I sometimes soak or put under a lamp. Is there a quicker way?

I frankly don't know. What I just do is put the mouse in a plastic baggie, heat water on the stove, pour hot water into a cup and then put the bagged mousicle in the semi-hot water. Keeps the mouse from getting soaked and takes maybe 15-20 minutes. Not fast, but it's easy.
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

I used hot water for a long time. I would put a large coffee cup of water in the microwave and get it hot, but not so hot I'd cook the mice. Then I'd usually just toss them in and roll them on a paper towel a few minutes later to dry. Small pinks thaw really fast that way.

Now I just pull an assortment of rodents out and put them in my snake room for 2 or 3 hours, depending on size. I put them in ziploc bags. I will sometimes use the hot water method if I find that ALL my snakes were a bit hungrier than anticipated and I want to thaw a few out quick to supplement.

Duffy

try weighting the bag down so that the rodents are immersed in the warm water, rather than floating on or near the top of it. They also thaw faster this way, since you don't have to turn them over mid thaw.

regards,
althea

Fortunately with thawing one mouse, I can just push it and the (nearly airless) bag down enough that the hot water laps over on top of the bag and encircles it. But if I had to thaw rats or multiple mice, I'd definitely need to weight it. The water on top would cool too fast with that frozen mass.
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0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

Hi, I use warm tap water in a Tupperware bowl.

I put my mice, rats, or chicks in a bowl and flush them with warm water. Refill the bowl with warm water. Check the mice and change the water about every 10 minutes for ½ an hour. If your to busy for that put them in the bowl of warm water for thirty minutes.After about 30 minutes change the water with warm for about 5 minutes, check the mouse and serve.

You can feel the mouse and tell if it needs another change of water and another 5 minutes.

Your food source should be thawed and used with some haste. When a food source is frozen and thawed slowly it allows the gases inside to build and decomposer to break down the animals internal organs quickly.

I serve them wet and thawed right out of the bowl. This will add a little hydration to your snake also.

Good luck…Dann

I used the hot water and bag method for a long time... and then realised that there isn't really any need for the bag (unless you want to weigh it down). Many of my snakes seem to be able to swallow wet feeders easier than dry feeders.

For a really rapid defrost... I put the rats into a large ceramic bowl (as this allows for better heat retention), fill with hot water a few times, and then leave the hot water tap running slowly. The rats roll about in the current created and a medium sized rat defrosts in about 7 minutes.

For tricky feeders, i put the feeder in the ceramic bowl with hot water, and place it in a position where the vapour reaches the vents to the enclosure. The rat scent fills the air and drives them wild.

I have a large plastic bowl that I use. I place my feeders in zip-loc bags, squeezing all the air out that I can, and place them in the bowl in hot tap water. I usually use a large coffee cup placed on top of them in the bowl to weigh them down. Change the water out once or twice as it cools, and this gives me time to clean cages as the feeders thaw. Once they are done thawing, Im usually done cleaning cages, so it works out pretty good.
Brian

>>I was just wondering, how do you guys thaw out your mice or rats for your snakes? I sometimes soak or put under a lamp. Is there a quicker way?
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
0.0.1 Great plains rat snake (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

What i do is fill the mouse cup (just a tall cup that i use just for thawing mice) with hot water, add the mice with no bag because a wet mouse since the snakes could use the water anyway. Then i put an old cd case over the top to keep the heat inside then i check the mice afer about 10 minutes.. if the water has cooled someand the mice arent thawed i add more hot water until they have become thawed all the way through and feed them liek that. the cd case does keep some of the heat inside of the cup longer.
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My lovely baby's
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0.2 Columbian Red-Tail Boas... Red * April
0.0.2 leopard geckos(1 albino)... Ghost * King
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise...Shelly
0.0.1 leopard tortoise... Speedy
1.0 Kenyan sand boa... Digger
1.1 bearded dragon... Spike*Freak
3.0 cats... TP * Char * Tyson