Thawing out rats???

[Christian75]

G'day,

Is there any reason why you shouldn't defrost rats in warm water?? I just read in the Dolittle catalogue that it's a big no no...

Any ideas??

 

[jords]

was reading in a forum onty the other day that it was only wrong to use boiling water... otherwise how would you get the rats warm for python? i always use hot water couple of mins before feeeding and have had no problems at all...

 

[junglepython2]

Not that I can think of, heaps of people do it.

 

[MrBredli]

Paying Dolittle's prices for rodents is a big no no. Thawing rodents in warm/hot water is fine.

 

[jords]

whats too much to pay for large adult rats? know its off topic but im paying 50 bucks for a five pack from stafford in bris....???

 

[Rosemary]

I never put mine in the water as apparently the water will take away quite a bit of the scent,

 

[MrBredli]

$10 bucks each?? You should be paying half that.

 

[hornet]

thats obscene, $2.50-$3 is a better price

 

[MrBredli]

I never put mine in the water as apparently the water will take away quite a bit of the scent,

That's untrue, their feeding response is exactly the same whether the rodent is freshly killed or thawed in water.

 

[Christian75]

Cheers guys. Didn't think there was a problem. The scent issue isn't a drama for our DP. She just smashes them!!

 

[hornet]

I never put mine in the water as apparently the water will take away quite a bit of the scent,

yes it does take the scent away and some snakes prefer it, i have heard people have better luck getting stubborn snakes to feed by using washed

 

[jords]

$10 bucks each?? You should be paying half that.

yeah i thought it was harsh.... maybe ill start a thread asking bout cheaper ones in bris. cheers

 

[Christian75]

Yeah jords, $10 a rat is ridiculous. We get 5 for $25 down this way and I've heard that is still pricey.

 

[jords]

another store i went into only sold them in one packs and price was even worse.... still though if its that or nothing, my baby has to eat

 

[mcloughlin2]

I can buy rats from a petshop down here for less then $10 :shock:

 

[junglemad]

you can get rats in sydney for under $4 from Hsana on this site. Doolittle sounds like a load of .crap

 

[mrmikk]

I never put mine in the water as apparently the water will take away quite a bit of the scent,

Put the rat into freezer bag, drop the whole lot into hot tap water and leave it there for a few minutes. No problems...

 

[Rennie]

I used to use snap-lock bags to keep the mice dry but don't bother now.
I've been defrosting mice and rats in the same water for a couple of years now (not the same water for 2 years, but together :lol: ), I haven't had a problem yet going from from one to the other with any my snakes, they smell the same.

 

[MrBredli]

I actually put the rat into a snap lock bag and fill that with water. Once defrosted just chuck the bag away. Couldn't be easier.

 

[Tsubakai]

If you want to be pedantic about it you can check the water temp with a cheap aquarium thermometer that way you know you'll not overheat the rat. Washing the scent off doesn't seem to make a big difference.

On a side note I can get X-large rats (up to 750g each) for $22.50 for 5 so $10 a pop does seem a bit on the steep side. The problem with buying pet rats for feeders is that some breeders treat them with pesticides to stop them being used as food.