I just went to that link that Peter provided above and at the end of the page, it says NOT to thaw rodents in hot water. Why not?? I thought that was the way to do it. Here is what it says:
One last thing, a note on THAWING your feeders. Don?t be a doofus. Thawing frozen mice in a cup of hot water only takes you back to the old days of rotten, slimy mice. Thaw your rodents on a plastic lid, or some newspaper, at room temperature, it doesn?t take long at all. If you must use hot water for that "quick thaw" at least put the feeder in a Ziploc bag! Seal it up, thaw it out, and when you feed it, it is still dry! And appetizing! Ok, that?s a relative term, but this whole paper is about your animal, not you, so do what is best for them! Feed smart, feed healthy, feed thawed prey!
Is it really bad to thaw mice out in hot water? I thaw all of Xavier's pinkies out in a cup of hot water and the mice don't seem slimy and rotten.
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Maybe that site is just talkinga bout personal preference and opinion.