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Thawing Multiple Adults

HoosierHerper

HoosierHerper

Josh
I was wondering what methods are best for thawing multiple adult mice at once. I currently put my pinkies in a ziplock and run them under hot water at the sink...but for when thawing 3 large/slightly jumbo adult mice it's going to take a while using that method...

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Josh
 
I usually just clean out my bathroom sink and then fill it up with hot water and let them sit in the water directly. My snakes are not fussy, so they'll eat the rodents wet. I usually dry them off a little.
If you don't have to insta-thaw, what works really well is putting all the mice in a bag and letting them thaw 24 hours in the fridge, and then let them warm up in hot water (still wrapped in the bag).
 
I have a pair of coffee mugs JUST for snake use. Lol! I heat up the water in the microwave for 1-2 mins. (Time varies depending on how many mice I am thawing and how large they are.)

Then I drop the mice in the mug of hot water and let 'em soak for a few minutes.

Before I feed them to the snake, I blot the excess water off with a paper towel... mostly so I can check to make sure they are completely thawed and/or not too hot. :)
 
yup, I throw them in an old margarine container with hot tap water, depending on how many are in there depends on whether you have to change the water or not. Still only takes 5-10 mins or so.
 
I have bowls just for thawing rodents. I run the tap water as hot as it will go, & put the feeders in the bowl(s), then fill with hot water. Since I'm also thawing out small to medium rats, I have to change out the water a couple times, when it gets cold.
This has also helped with getting my carpets to switch to rats, since the mice & rats are thawed together, it kind of blends the smells.
I do thaw pinks for the hatchlings separately, in a coffee cup of hot tap water.
 
Sounds like everyone is doing them without a bag for the most part? I'll try them like that next time...maybe getting them directly in there will speed up the process :)

Thanks everyone!
 
Yep, for the most part I think most of us just toss them right in the water :) The only one I had that was picky for a while was my ball python, but once I switched him to ASFs he doesn't have that issue anymore.
 
Seems like there's a major trend! I have a special bucket for the adult rodents (due to the fact I'm feeding around 90 adults). I have to change the water a couple of times but that's not much of an issue. And none of my snakes care if their dinner is wet or dry (except the one that eats live only and refuses to eat F/T unless she is starving such as that first meal after laying her eggs).
 
I have "mouse bowls." I put the mice in an appropriate-sized ceramic bowl and put them in hot water under a running tap, with it barely dripping. I go through and clean all the water bowls or go do something else for 15 minutes then come back and they are thawed. I remove one at a time as I feed and dry them on a paper towel, reheating under hot running water if necessary.
 
Hoosier - do not listen too those people. I will tell you the correct way to thaw adult mice.

First, you will need a girly daughter(you have to wait 16 years) so you can steal her large drinking cup.

Second, use said cup to thaw the adult mice like above. No wait my method is better, put mice in cup and turn on hot tap water and when it gets hot put water in cup with mice.

Third, wait for girly daughter to see cup and spend the next hour saying sorry to wife and daughter. Forget what I said, I am in too much hot water.
 
Actually, the "best" method to thaw mice was discovered by another member quite awhile ago. You can read about his method HERE. Enjoy!
 
Forget the ''water method'....I just set mine out on top of a cage an let them thaw for a good part of the day as I do other things. When they are nice an thawed out, then I'll pass them out. Course this takes a bit longer then the hot water method but works for me.
 
Janome said:
Forget the ''water method'....I just set mine out on top of a cage an let them thaw for a good part of the day as I do other things. When they are nice an thawed out, then I'll pass them out. Course this takes a bit longer then the hot water method but works for me.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, leaving them out for several hours increases the bacterial count and the mice often "go bad" before you can feed them. I personally don't like to risk the health of my snakes.
 
I use a small drink cooler ( Coleman brand ), which is basically a big plastic square-cube with handles, and a top that fits snug. Put all mice, large or small, in the cooler, fill with hot tap water, and within 15-30 minutes, all are completely thawed. No need to change the water or keep water running, as the lid is fitted to keep the temps constant inside. Been thawing this way for over 21 years. My whole snake collection's mice can be thawed out in 30 minutes with this technique.
 
What I have always done is.........I have several cookie baking trays for each snake rack with a folded paper towel on each of them to absorb moisture. I then lay out their individual appropriate sized rodents on the trays in the order they will be fed-off to the snakes. This saves having to sort them all out later on as well.

Once they are all laid out on the trays, I set them in front of a box fan in my garage and they gradually get thawed AND dried. After about 30 or so minutes, pinkies are dry and ready to be fed, and around two hours the larger adult rodents are thawed and very dry too.

This way takes a bit longer, but it is absolutely hassle free as long as you don't need to feed them PRONTO!. No sopping wet fur to mess with, and zero belly skin degradation from hot water to worry about. After they are thawed, I simply walk in, feel them to see if they are completely thawed, and start feeding in the order they were placed in.


~Doug
 
Susan said:
Unfortunately, leaving them out for several hours increases the bacterial count and the mice often "go bad" before you can feed them. I personally don't like to risk the health of my snakes.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, I just can't see that there is any way they can "go bad" within a couple hours if they were fresh-frozen to begin with. I just don't see this happen in that short length of time. The way I mentioned only takes pinks and fuzzies about 30 to 45 minutes(timer set), and large mice about 2 hours(timer set). And of course a good portion of that time, the core internal portion of the rodent is very cool anyway due to the gradual thawing process.



~Doug
 
Janome said:
Forget the ''water method'....I just set mine out on top of a cage an let them thaw for a good part of the day as I do other things. When they are nice an thawed out, then I'll pass them out. Course this takes a bit longer then the hot water method but works for me.
Click to expand...

Doug, I think Susan was talking about the "good part of a day" not 45 minutes for pinks and 2 hours for adults. To me, "a good part of a day" is 6 to 8 hours since a day is 24 hours long and a normal work day for me is 10 to 12 hours.
 
Fatman608 said:
Doug, I think Susan was talking about the "good part of a day" not 45 minutes for pinks and 2 hours for adults. To me, "a good part of a day" is 6 to 8 hours since a day is 24 hours long and a normal work day for me is 10 to 12 hours.
Click to expand...

Yes, I can only assume that many hours of being left out in warmer ambient temps could possibly get bacteria multiplying to unacceptable levels. They would be higher concentrations of any bacteria within the intestinal tract of the rodent of course.

Anyway, yes, I'm sure Susan was referring to that statement, not really mine. I certainly go do things around the house while they are thawing, but not for a "good part of the day" as previously mentioned. That might be a little overkill.......or "over-decomposed" as the case may be..LOL!


~Doug
 
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