what method thawing rats?

[moodyblue1969]

when my babies were on rat pups i put them in hot water to thaw out but now they are on big weaners i leave them out overnight.is it best to leave them in fridge or just on sideboard (heating in house is on),i dont think thawing in water is much good with the bigger food.whats your methods please

[Natrix]

Originally Posted by moodyblue1969

when my babies were on rat pups i put them in hot water to thaw out but now they are on big weaners i leave them out overnight.is it best to leave them in fridge or just on sideboard (heating in house is on),i dont think thawing in water is much good with the bigger food.whats your methods please

This any help?


There are three excepted ways of safely thawing frozen meat (for meat read rodents, birds and fish) for human consumption but only two of these can be recommended for use when thawing whole animals for feeding to snakes.

1) Refrigerator Thawing
This method requires Planning ahead but is considered the best method. The food is placed in a suitable, sealed container and placed in the fridge to thaw out. Depending on the amount being defrosted this process can take several hours or even a full day to achieve but once thawed out and kept at 3 to 4.C the food will keep fresh for several days. Also foods defrosted in the refrigerator can be re-frozen without cooking, although there may be some loss of quality.
Some areas of a fridge may keep the food colder than other areas and food placed in the coldest part will require longer to defrost.


2) Cold Water Thawing
This is a faster method than refrigerator thawing but requires more attention. For best results the food should be in a leak-proof plastic bag. This is mainly to avoid microbes from the air or water being introduced through the bag into the food, also, meat tissue can absorb water like a sponge, resulting in a watery food for the snake.
The bag should be submerged in cold tap water, changing the water every 30 minutes so it continues to thaw. Smaller packages of meat will defrost in an hour or less but larger amounts will take longer (2 to 3 hours). Once thawed completely, the food must be used immediately.
Foods thawed by the cold water method can not be re-frozen.

3)Microwave Thawing
Whilst very fast, this method has a major draw back when dealing with whole animals. The microwaves heat up some areas of the animal faster than others and when something sealed, like a stomach heats up faster than the surrounding meat tissue pressure builds up which quickly leading to a very impressive explosion. It is almost impossible to clean the resulting mess from all the workings inside a microwave and strangely non snake keepers in the house seem to have a problem with this situation.
The microwave method can be used on pieces of meat such as fish fillets but defrosting should be kept to a minimum amount of time to avoid cooking the food and the food left for ten to twenty minutes to allow any hot spots to cool down before feeding.
Foods defrosted in a microwave should be used shortly after defrosting and not left for any lengthy periods as any hot spots may of encouraged the growth of microbes. For this reason it is also advisable to keep the handling of partially cooked food to a minimum.
Foods thawed in the microwave can not be re-frozen.
With the exception of 1) Refrigerator Thawing, the food should always be fed as soon as it is throughly defrosted and not left standing around for hours.
If the snakes do require their food to be offered warm, wait until the food is thoroughly defrosted before quickly warming it just before it is required.
Always make sure that all food is thoroughly defrosted as ice can cause problems in the cold
blooded digestive system.

DEFROSTING METHODS TO AVOID
Basically any method that allows the partially defrosted food to come into prolonged contact with temperatures in excess of 4.5.C is going to encourage the growth of microbes and can not be recommended. as a safe method of defrosting, this includes leaving frozen food laying around in the house or reptile room to defrost and also using hot/warm water as a defrosting agent.
Always remember if ambient temperatures exceed 4.5.C that even when the centre of the food is still frozen as thawing takes place, the outer layer of the food will be in the "Danger Zone," between 4.5.C and 60C and these are temperatures at which microbes that were present before freezing will begin to multiply rapidly.

[moodyblue1969]

thanks natrix,look like they getting a night in the fridge ready for later tomorrow