carnivorouszoo
Crazy Critter Lady
I have to admit, my microwave is older and needs replaced. It takes a little longer than new ones to heat up. If I put the water in for 30 seconds nothing would really happen to it. :dgrin:
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Best way to defrost a pinky or fuzzys ???
- Thread starter Martyn
- Start date
I have to admit, my microwave is older and needs replaced. It takes a little longer than new ones to heat up. If I put the water in for 30 seconds nothing would really happen to it. :dgrin:
ladyq1
Often lurking...
I generally thaw at room temperatures. Since ATM I have 2 snakes who eat XXL rats (boas), this often means leaving them out to thaw overnight, or while I'm at school/work for the day. If I want to get them a little warmer before I feed them, I'll put the bag that they are in (I only every have 1-2 per bag at that size) in some warm water for a few minutes at the end to heat them a bit. Our old guys have been eating like this for a good decade now and it works fairly well. I'm sure pinkies will be a bit different, in that they are likely to thaw much faster!
As far as putting them directly in water - the only problem I can see with that is if they are left there long enough you could get a 'washed meat' effect. When learning about raptors, often part of training the birds involves giving them tidbits, but trying to avoid too much weight gain. This is accomplished by soaking the meat in water for an extended period - which 'washes' out most of the nutrients, leaving a 'filling' but essentially empty calorie meal for them. (kinda like if you've ever seen a piece of stake that has ended up sitting in water for a long time - it gets a greyish white washed out look) When dealing with an overweight bird raptor, this can be used to help bring their weight back down without them feeling hungry - by alternating it with normal meals. I would guess that left to soak to long, a mouse could become 'washed meat' just as easily, therefore depriving the snake of some nutrients.
On the other side of things - having the prey item be damp or wet before feeding can be a way to get a bit of extra hydration into a snake that may not be drinking enough on its own. We have wet down feeders in the past for this purpose - not soaking them in the water, but just getting them wet before feeding. So using water directly on them may help as far as hydrating your snake.
As far as putting them directly in water - the only problem I can see with that is if they are left there long enough you could get a 'washed meat' effect. When learning about raptors, often part of training the birds involves giving them tidbits, but trying to avoid too much weight gain. This is accomplished by soaking the meat in water for an extended period - which 'washes' out most of the nutrients, leaving a 'filling' but essentially empty calorie meal for them. (kinda like if you've ever seen a piece of stake that has ended up sitting in water for a long time - it gets a greyish white washed out look) When dealing with an overweight bird raptor, this can be used to help bring their weight back down without them feeling hungry - by alternating it with normal meals. I would guess that left to soak to long, a mouse could become 'washed meat' just as easily, therefore depriving the snake of some nutrients.
On the other side of things - having the prey item be damp or wet before feeding can be a way to get a bit of extra hydration into a snake that may not be drinking enough on its own. We have wet down feeders in the past for this purpose - not soaking them in the water, but just getting them wet before feeding. So using water directly on them may help as far as hydrating your snake.
Bartholomew
Big Brotha Bart
What i do to defrost my pinkies is just get them out and heat up some filtered water. After that i leave them inside the water for about 4-5 minutes...and then i dump the water out, and dry them with a paper towel. If i feel that its still kinda cold, i put it on top of this heat lamp for a while constantly turning it until its warm. Seems to work fine.