Just looking for some thoughts on this from you all
I have 11 babies left from late 2022 season. I decided to try an experiment.
I defrosted as normal to room temperature, But I didn’t warm up the food item above room temperatures.
All strike fed on what could be seen to them as cold pray. They have done it again since for 3 further feeds.
I think I am going to keep doing it this way.
Has anyone had any experience with this?
Is it a good idea to continue this?
Any negatives there could be with it?
(I do get more fluids into them when I warm the the end of the food in hot water.)
I think really the only concern I have here is defrosting them at room temp… that could take a long time, and would promote dangerous bacterial growth before you get the chance to feed them off. I would reccomend defrosting them in the fridge, as it won’t let them get above that threshold where meat/food can start to decompose and bacteria growing.
I recommend this for the same reason I wouldn’t tell someone to thaw some chicken breast on the kitchen counter.
Otherwise feeding them cool/room temp/warm/etc is just preference of the snake. Some are picky and need it to be right around a certain temp to eat it. If yours don’t, then that makes things simpler for you lol
Personally the main reason I heat my f/t is because it takes too long to thaw out at room temp. I also never thaw them in water since I think it washes the smell off them and is just messier to me. I usually put them in the thawing box I’ve made at around 1-2pm and then feed around 5-6pm.
If they’re still cool to the touch by then I’ll usually try feeding anyways. Sometimes I’ll warm them more if I’m not getting the feeding response from some, and often they’ll take it on the second warmer try.
I wish mine would take room temp feeders! I always put them in a ziplock baggy by size and thaw them in hot water. Because I always forget to get them out early.
Every week. Yeah.
Anyway, all of mine will only eat if they are over 95 degrees F. Otherwise they just look at me.
I thaw mine in hot water, too, David. Sometimes I use a bag, sometimes not. Thawing in the fridge overnight doesn’t always work for me because I can’t guarantee that I will be able to feed the next day. I don’t want them to sit in the fridge thawed for too long before feeding for safety reasons. Thawing at room temp is potentially dangerous, as stated by @nswilkerson1. Sometimes I have picky hatchlings who want their food warm but most of them don’t care. Wet, dry, they don’t care. Dusted with NutriBac or calcium & D3 powder, they still don’t care. For which I’m thankful!
I’ll disagree.
We have always done this as does many breeders I know! And shops too I know, they get out a load of rats in bulk to feed the snakes.
No issues at all.
Sometimes I put on the heat mat too, so they thaw quicker if I get out too late. But always been fine
Not trying to sound rude, but just because it’s being done doesn’t mean it isn’t potentially dangerous. It’s basic food safety science. Anything over 40 degrees F starts to promote the growth of harmful bacteria.
You wouldn’t thaw meat for yourself out on the counter from frozen to room temp, it is absolutely no different.
I always thaw mine in warm water. No explosions, ready to feed withing the hour. I usually start thawing then begin the maintenance routine, changing water bowls.
Again. Not being rude, but there is science backing my points. I’m not just commenting here saying it to try to start drama, just promoting the best care practices we can for our animals.
I’m the same way. Occasionally I’ll be on top of it and remember to put them in the fridge the day before to thaw, but often I forget. It’s not so bad to warm up mice in hot water from frozen, but the large rats take forever. I’m really trying to be better about remembering to put the rats in the fridge the night before, because they warm up so much faster when they’re not frozen solid.
I’ve never tried feeding them room temp. Maybe I’ll try it one of these days. Sometimes my sand boa takes a while to find her mouse (if she’s burrowed, I often don’t even know where she is, so I just leave her mouse on her log), and I’d imagine that sometimes they’ve cooled significantly by the time she finds them. And my blood python is a garbage disposal, so I suspect that she might take rats at room temp. It’d definitely be worth a try!
This is the norm in the uk. Never known any difference at all.
We get rats out, when ready to eat they’re fed to the snakes? I don’t know what the harm in that is?
I know many who do this with steak.
I don’t eat meat so can’t comment on myself. But the oh always gets meat out and leaves on the side for a bit as cooks better when leaving for a bit.
sorry I couldn’t help myself……. 
