Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how do i know when it's the right temperature to feed to the snake...

I wait until I can leave the rat out and it stays nice and warm. I use a small bucket and hot water and usually keep the rats in it for a good hour or so, changing the water 2 or 3 times to keep it hot. Usually this is long enough to where even if the rat is out for 10 mins, it is still nice and warm, and will not drop below room temp.
Jason

or just time your heating without changing anything. For example, I use water to heat my rats. Water is a wonderful thing. It boils at around 100deg C (depending on where you are) so after that you can turn off the stove, wait 3 min (let the temp of the water and pot drop a bit, the vigous boiling will stop). Put the rat (between 80 and 165 grams, its all I have experimented with so far) in a zip lock, seal it, drop it in for 3 min. It will be just over 40deg C (mine are at around 42deg C by my thermometer) which is just enough so that by the time you get it to the snake it is right at human (which is close enough to a rat's natural temp) temperature. Feed your snake.

That's it. Make sure the rat is completely thawed and at room temp BEFORE you start. I used a thermometer untill I realized after 5 tries that the temps ALLWAYS were within 2deg C every time. That's my max varience. Accurate enough. Hope it helps.

Dave

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