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Question about thawed rodents

darkbloodwyvern

darkbloodwyvern

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hello, quick question
if you thaw out your rodent feeders in the fridge before warming and feeding them- how long do you let the feeder sit? When does the quality start going down, and do your animals get picky if it has been in there for more than a day and a half? I have just had wierd luck with thawing feeders, even those from the same store/company. Some of my rat pups seemsed to get gross if i thawed them two days in advance, whaile some seemed fine. I am changing my thawing schedule to a day before feeding because of this, just curious what most people do.
Anyways, it's not a huge deal, but i was wondering if anyone needed to let the feeder get stinky enough for their animal to get excited about it, or if one day thawing seems to be good for most...
thanks!
 
you have to thaw feeders so that they are warm.

You cannot feed a feeder rodent cold, otherwise the snake in question will not be interested.

Thawing a feeder rodent in boiled or hot water for several minutes is usually the best way. the must be pretty warm to entice a snake to feed
 
It did say thawing in the fridge before warming and feeding them, so I don't think Jessi is taking them directly from the fridge and to the snake cage.

I don't thaw them like that myself, most people thaw them quickly in hot water and feed directly to the snakes. No need to start planning your feeding a day or two in advance.
That way you don't worry about the quality going down either, since they were frozen up until 15 minutes before feeding.
 
I don't necessarily agree with the comment that the feeders have to be warm to entice the snake, either...well, at least not for most of what I have dealt with over the years. Sure, I have had a few that required that added stimulus (and this is particularly common with babies that have labial thermoreceptors, imported Corallus or pit vipers that haven't totally gotten used to the idea of being served meals vs reaching down/out and grabbing them), but most will take prey even when it has dropped to room temperature. That said, my first move when any boid (or pit viper) starts refusing meals is to make sure the prey item is hot.
 
I do it the same way as Clay and others.....take them directly from the freezer, to hot water, to feeding. I have noticed that if you are feeding smaller items like pinks, that you do have to be careful just how hot the water is, however...it seems like their thin skin tends to get squishy and sometimes split if the water is too warm.

I have some that would probably eat them half frozen if I let them, (not that I WOULD, they just are that un-picky about temp) and some that turn their noses up unless the prey is nice and warm. It varies from animal to animal.
 
I have a large utility sink in my snake room. I simply fill the sink up with hot water and throw the rats (while still in the bag) in the sink. I come back later in the day and typically they are thawed all the way through. The rats are typically not warm though as the water has significantly chilled through this thawing process.

I simply take the rat out of the bag and throw it over the heated side of the cage. Most of my animals will take it just like it is. However, for those that want it warmed, the flexwatt takes care of it for me. I rarely have an animal refuse the food

Griz
 
thanks for all the replies! i will be experimenting, but i have a few things that work already, i may just end up sticking with what i can do. thanks again!
 
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