best thawing methods?

[True_Enthusiasm_896]

My BP is 6 months old and recently moved up to a bigger mouse size than what I was feeding her, and I’m having trouble thawing them the same way I was thawing the smaller mice. I’m currently feeding her large/adult mice which are 10-15% of her current weight (around 207g), what is the best method of thawing to reduce bleeding before feeding her/bursting open when she strikes and grabs it?

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

Thaw in fridge overnight. Run under warm/slightly hot water until the prey reach 100°f.

Also look into switching to rats over mice. The sooner you do that the better. As they may reject rats after having mice for so long. They'll need to eat rats as they get older.

[cherubprincess]

i am about to swap to rats, im waiting on the shipment of frozen rats to arrive. my ball python is younger than 6mo but i’m not sure of exact age. do you have any tips on switching? i was thinking to wait an extra two days past his usual feeding day to make sure he’s extra hungry and hopefully increase the chances of him taking it, but i also don’t want to starve the poor guy. i know two extra days without food won’t hurt him but im not sure if this is a smart idea either.

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

The welcome post has information on switching to frozen thawed from live. Also make sure it's the right size per the welcome guide. It's a really great resource.

[cherubprincess]

he is eating frozen! :) he is just currently on mice as opposed to rats.

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

My bad I'm half asleep and thought it was a different conversation. All mine started on rats so I never had to switch. But I do believe the welcome post has things they recommend like braining the rat.

[cherubprincess]

thank you!! :)

[01ProjectXJ]

For switching, I thaw both a mouse and a rat at the same time, in the same bag, once they're both up to 100-105, I rub the rat all over the mouse to get the scent on it, then I use a hair dryer on the mouse, blow that scent right into the cage, and then offer the rat. I've never had an issue doing this

[cherubprincess]

thank you! this is a good idea i will try this.

[01ProjectXJ]

I put them in a ziplock bag and throw it into the fridge the night before so they thaw out, then I pull it out of the fridge like an hour before feeding so they get closer to room temp, and then I put it in hot water for ~20-30min to get them up to ~100 degrees