How long do you thaw out yer mice?

[newsnakeowner1978]

I was wondering how long it takes to thaw out the mice. I put the pinkys in hot water for bout 5 mins or so but what about the other sizes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rich in KY]

Use the same method for all size mice. Use the hottest water possible. Just don't cook the mouse.

You want to make sure the mouse is warm all the way through. So you will have to feel it until it is soft and warm. Ideally it should be about 100-102*.

 

[zwyatt]

In a way, the length of time isn't important. As long as the whole mouse gets warmed all the way through, the length of time doesn't matter. The head tends to take the longest to thaw. If you sort of squeeze the head between your thumb and forefinger (not too hard!) and hold it for a few seconds you can pretty easily tell if it's still cold in the center or thawed all the way through.

I typically fill a small gladware with very hot water and put the mouse in a ziplock bag and then immerse it in the hot water using something to hold it at least part way under the surface of the water. If it's a small prey item, there's no need to change the water because it will thaw pretty quickly. But if it's larger, I usually like to dump the water after a few minutes and put in fresh hot water and give it a bit longer to thaw...I never watch the clock to see how long it has been. Usually, I get busy doing something else and forget there's something thawing anyways, which pretty much ensures that they are warm by the time I remember them

 

[Penman6668]

I do the same as zwyatt. I use a plastic cup and hot water. I wait about twenty minutes and then feed the snake. I usually forget the mouse too.

 

[GillyMonster]

since its still hot in Texas I use my garage to help defrost the pinky, I will put it out for about 30 min turning it over from one side in fifteen min.When ready to feed i run hot water over the mouse in a ziplock bag for 1 min then feed.

 

[starsevol]

I'm paranoid. I usually thaw for an hour using very hot tap water.

 

[MerlinsPop]

I drop the mouse in a cup with hot tap water and a probe thermoter (don't tell my wife!). The water temperature drops pretty quickly as the mouse warms up, but as the mouse and water reach equilibrium, the temperature stops dropping rapidly. If the temp is below 105*, I add more hot water. If it's still above 105*, then I pick the mouse out, dry it off and take it upstairs to feed. By the time I have the snake out and in his feeding bin, I'm sure the mouse temp has lowered to just above 100*. I'm still on pinks, so this works good for me. When I move up to larger mice, I'm sure I'll have to alter this, or at least regularly dump some water and add fresh hot water before the temp stabilizes at the right place.

 

[tom e]

I pull the ones I'll be feeding that night from the freezer and into the fridge- in their plastic bags.
Later I "wash" them in very hot tap water, just before feeding.

 

[Thoth]

I put the mice in a plastic sandwich bag. Then I put the bag in a Gladware bowl filled with hot tap water. The mice float (I guess they're witch mice), so I weigh them down a bit with the feeding tongs. I usually empty and re-fill two or three times until they feel warm to my bare fingers. The water cools off too quickly for me to just leave it for 20 minutes.

 

[Baba-Lou]

I place my mice in a container with the hottest water i can till their warmed al the way through.

 

[nlove_3000]

I have a handy dandy "hot water only" faucet next to the regular that automatically gives me water hot enough to make oatmeal without the microwave! When I use the water from that it doesn't take too long. If you buy your frozen rodents in mainstream packaging there are usually instructions for thawing on the package I thaw pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers and adult mice...all different lengths of time of course. JUST DON'T MICROWAVE THEM!!!!!