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thawing mice with lamp

S

silversmith

New member
I use my desklamp to thaw my mice over the course of two hours or more. Is this safe? or will the light slowly start cooking them?
 
In 2 hours a lot of bacteria can develop. It would be better to put the mouse in a plastic bag and dip it in hot water untill completely thawed.
 
I do agree with Jicin, do not leave it under a lamp of anykind. Bacteria does grow very rapidly, and you dont want your snake to get sick. The skin of the pinkie will dry out and the snake would rather have a soft warm pinkie.
 
my frozen mice come individually packaged. all i do is heat up some water in a cup and let the mouse (still in it's package) thaw out.
 
I'll step out on a limb here........

Jicin said:
In 2 hours a lot of bacteria can develop. It would be better to put the mouse in a plastic bag and dip it in hot water untill completely thawed.
Click to expand...

That really isn't an issue IMO. For years I have thawed my feeders at room temp for hours before feeding. The snakes eat them and I've never experienced have a bacteria problem. No regurges, no deaths....... I can also say that I've seen multiple cases of a snake not actual eat a mouse for 6-10 hours (overnight) then gulp it down the next day with zero health impact.

Of course this is just my .02 :)
 
CAV, thats at room temp, what silversmith said was under a light. Heating it up under a light "can" cause bacteria to form. I myself have done it at room temp and no problems, but under a light could maybe cause bacteria.
 
better safe then sorry!!

silversmith said:
I use my desklamp to thaw my mice over the course of two hours or more. Is this safe? or will the light slowly start cooking them?
Click to expand...

No i dont think it will start cooking the mouse, only if its a heat lamp it will start to cook. Never the less just leave it at room temp, or place in warm water to thaw.
 
newt said:
CAV, thats at room temp, what silversmith said was under a light. Heating it up under a light "can" cause bacteria to form. I myself have done it at room temp and no problems, but under a light could maybe cause bacteria.
Click to expand...

Again, I really don't see it as an issue; lamp or no lamp. ;) IMO, a desk lamp isn't doing anything but speeding up the thawing process. Remember folks, the mouse is STARTING out < 32F degrees, not at room temp.
 
CAV said:
Again, I really don't see it as an issue; lamp or no lamp. ;) IMO, a desk lamp isn't doing anything but speeding up the thawing process. Remember folks, the mouse is STARTING out < 32F degrees, not at room temp.
Click to expand...

You make a very good point there Cav, I change my first answer. LOL
 
I would have to completely agree with CAV here. I have fed them water thawed, room temperature thawed, overnight thawed etc.. and never had problems relating to the food. I would say a lamp is fine as long as it doesn't dry out the mouse and hence reduce the moisture content of the meal. Also you wouldn't want the temperature of the lamp to start cooking the mouse as that will also affect the nutritional value of the meal.
Now, to be completely safe, all frozen meals should be thawed at fridge temperature and not at room or warm temperature, but since this takes so much longer, none of us do it.
 
lamp not a good idea

I am a chef, and the first thing they teach you is food safety. There is a zone that bacteria and the like can grow... From 45-120. Now, you want the mouse to be at body temp, close to 100 degrees. So as long as you get the mouse thawed quickly, as was stated before, get a ziplock bag, use a sharpie to mark what will be in the bag(noone wants a sammich packed in this bag...) and run the mouse under running water( again a food safety issue that may not be viable in this situation) uintil the mouse is at temp.
 
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