Just drop the mouse in and let er rip
My bps are on f/t. Its all I can source. One has been picky and I could only get her to eat in a feeding box. It looks like shes finally over that.
One thing that can help is letting the whole mouse or rat thaw out, then heat up just the head in hot water. My snakes seem to respond best to that!
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I defrost the rat, wrap it in kitchen towel, place it in a plastic tub with a lid and microwave it in 4 second increments, leaving to stand for 30 seconds between cycles until it reaches 35 degrees C. One or two cycles is usually enough. I use an IR temp gun and make sure there are no hot spots on the rodent. Sometimes the tail can get much hotter than the belly so be careful before feeding the animal. Iâve never had a refusal even during shed.
Iâve also heard turkey mince drives BPâs to eat. Rub the tongs in raw turkey mince before picking up the rodent. Apparently they love the scent. Iâve never done it but a breeder I know swears by it. He said he discovered by accident (donât know how that happens 
) There may be a concern with samonella bacteria but according to the bag in which my rats come in it may be present on the thawed rodents anyway. So I guess a through clean of the thongs afterwards is important. Like I said Iâve never tried it but as a last resort itâs probably worth trying with a fussy eater or when trying to go from mice to rats.
I wouldnât microwave rodents (I really didnât think this would ever be a sentence I would have to type), it doesnât heat evenly and youâre likely to have weird âcookedâ spots as well the potential for exploding your rat.
Iâve found the best way is to toss the frozen rat a ziplock bag and then put it in a container of super hot water until itâs warmed to body temp. They tend to float so you can use a butter knife or something to hold the bag under the water
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@dave809090 never ever microwave rodents. Thaw at room temp, with some kind of heating lamp, or in a baggie in warm/hot water.
You donât want any part of it to be cooked. Thereâs more to it than just not wanting the rat to explode. Microwaves cook unevenly, youâre blasting radiation into the rat and itâs likely âcookingâ small bits of it by the time you get to the temp youâre looking for.
I get youâre being âextra careful,â but itâs just a bad idea period.
If youâre Completely thawing BEFORE using the microwave in this way then youâre not saving any time anyway, as just a couple minutes under a lamp or in a baggie in hot water heats up a rodent that is already thawedâŚand if your rodents are not really thawed then youâre very likely cooking bits of them while the rest finishes defrosting.
Thereâs very good reasons why literally everyone in the hobby recommends not microwaving rodents.
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Thanks for pointing out the potential for things to go wrong with using a microwave. I agree with almost all you have said. The method I use takes your very well made points into account though.
Rather than going down the non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation exciting atoms (increasing the average kinetic energy within the molecule or âheatingâ) being directly proportional to timed exposure and moisture content of specific parts of the rodent route, Iâll say the use of a microwave in general is a bad idea.
I use the top of my aquarium to fully defrost the rodent. This is at 27 degrees celsius. Usually takes about 3 hours. Absolutely there would be issues microwaving rodents for time periods likely to spot cook the rat. My objective is to raise the core temperature by 8 degrees. I expose to microwaves for very short periods ensuring spot cooking does not occur. Sure I could use hot water or a lamp but these methods heat from the outside in. The core will not be as warm as the exterior in many cases.
Theoretically cooking begins at 55 degrees C. I wonder how many folk using the hot water procedure are exceeding this unknowingly. The feet and tails will always defrost first and perhaps will proceed to âcookâ. Certainly the term âvery hot waterâ would not be good.
I certainly see your point though. There are potentially variables being introduced that could be problematic if not done with extreme care and forethought, which Iâm sure is why the community in does not recommend it. Thanks again and Iâll be looking for a better way to increase those last few degrees C. Perhaps a rolled up UTH with a thermostat 
I donât know what kind of water is coming out of your sink, but it doesnât get hot enough to cook something for me. You can also use a temp gun to make sure the water isnât too hot. You would probably have to boil the water to get it hot enough(no one does that). You also donât need the internal temperature boosted that much. You just need the outside to be around 90°F. And sometimes just the head. Just use the water and bag method. It is easy and fool proof.
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If it doesnât work faster, doesnât work âbetter,â and runs a FAR higher risk of negative consequences, why consider it?
I do appreciate the throwback to AP chem with the terminology but it does nothing to justify nuking a rodent. Do you honey boo boo, but it just seems a inefficient and risky method with no upside.
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Brilliant⌠No itâs just the mechanical engineer coming out in me and Iâm a huge supporter of the fight to save non ionizing radiation. No atoms were harmed in the using of a microwave so nuking isnât quite correct 
. As usual with engineers⌠we overthink everything!
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It normally comes out of my tap but I guess things are different over there.
Cooking does begin at 131 F or 55 C. A rare steak is 140 F.
I just found they have much more interest in eating the rodent at 35 degrees C. Iâll try them with it straight off the aquarium next time and see if thatâs still the case.
Thanks for the advice
Tab=sink. Both terms are used here to refer to the same thing. If they are off the aquarium at 27°C(80°F) then it wonât be hot enough. Just put it in water after it is thawed with the water being 35°C. Or warmer. My water is usually 98-100°F to speed the process up.
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Ah yes. I guess that explains the need to take a simple process and make it more complex.
If youâre a real engineer I think you should just design your own low wattage microwave that will precisely reach that sweet sweet 35* core temp. Your snakes will eat like kings
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Or just put that engineering towards making a rack and listen to the biologists when it comes to thawing miceâŚ
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@thecrawdfather and @chesterhf Maybe I will⌠and when I have perfectly fed snakes living in the perfectly designed rack systems youâll be soooo sorry, and you wonât be allowed over to my house to play 
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I think I can live with that
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I havenât tried it, but a fellow herper suggested a good way to switch them to frozen thawed is to thaw the prey item out. Then go ahead and feed a live prey item. As soon as it swallows the live prey item, offer the frozen thawed item. He says it works every time getting them on frozen thawed.
All of mine eat frozen thawed, I have an oil filled radiator in my bp room on a thermostat to keep the ambient air temp at 26 to 27 Celsius, a small rat takes 5 hours to thaw at that temp. After thawed and just before feeding I place them on the radiator for about 1 min which brings the rat to around 36 Celsius. All of my snakes are waiting because they can smell the rats as they thaw, the extra blast of heat on the radiator allows them to lock on when strike feeding. I would say I have a 95% feeding success rate.
Good luck.