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Old 09-10-2018, 07:17 PM   #12
hotlips
One more thought: how are you thawing the pinkies?

It matters more with larger prey, since pinkies thaw so quick...but keep in mind that improper thawing can promote spoilage that may cause the food to be rejected by the snake (snakes have a much better sense of smell than we do).

Even if you grew up thawing meat for your dinner on the counter-top, here's why this is different: rodents & other prey animals fed to snakes are whole animals...their GI tract is loaded with bacteria that LOVES room temperature to proliferate (grow!). It's just like the food safety warning that's on every frozen holiday turkey: thaw in the refrigerator, or thaw in COLD water only.

I thaw all rodents fed to my snakes in cold water: the larger it is, the longer it takes, and science tells us that temperatures transfer the easiest thru water contact, not thru air (air is actually an insulator...it's why clothing that traps warm air next to your body keeps you warmer, even if it's very light weight like down, polyester fleece or thinsulate-lined).

Thawing in hot water may seem faster, but the problem is that some of the food gets warm enough to be spoiling, while the rest is still lagging behind and frozen solid. And thawing on the counter-top is just wrong...

If (& only if) you have a snake that wants their prey warm in order to strike (such as those with heat sensing pits...pythons & rattlesnakes) once the prey is thawed, you can briefly submerge it in very warm water right before offering, OR, many like to use a blow-dryer to bring the temperature up. I don't think your sand boa will care either way about the prey being warm.
The main thing is to be sure that the prey isn't spoiled.