Yesterday my order of rats came in from Rodentpro.com and since it's frozen I was worried about if the UPS ppl would manage to get to my house before I left for work. they always seem to come right in the time between me having left for work and my mom not yet back from work. My mom is inventory control manager where at Jo-Ann Fabrics and so she see's the UPS guy daily and she asked him yesterday if he had the box and he did and gave it to her there so Tyson and I went and picked it up.
It's been a debate on whether Keilala would eat pre-killed food. I thought it was definitely worth a try since she got bit once by a live rat and I was worried about infection because a rat bite can kill a snake
So we were defrosting a rat in a ziploc in the kitchen sink when the pest control people came. They were all like "You must have a snake because in all my years of pest control I have never seen a rat defrosting in a kitchen sink, or you just really need some pest control here." It was funny.
I guess my mom and dad were argueing about how to defrost the rat and my dad was like the microwave probably and I was like not uh. Microwaving can cause hot spots inside the rat and can internally burn your snake, and on the flip side if you don't defrost it completely you can freeze your snake from the inside out!
I put Keilala in her feedbox and it was like damnit, I can't take the rat out of the ziploc and open the box at the same time without dripping blood on the carpet, bleh. Mom goes "I'm not holding the rat but I'll open it for you." hehe. So my mom opens it and of course Keilala starts heading right for me. She hasn't eaten in two weeks because she was shedding and well a hungry snake headed your way is kinda scary. They are the most awesome predators. The way she looks it's just wow, but I truly don't want to be on the end of her hunt. So I threw the rat in there right at her head and slammed the box shut, lol. I looked in after a couple minutes and she had it all wrapped up and she ate it! WOOT! I feel so much better knowing she won't get bit anymore. *happy dance* Alot of people ask why anyone would get a reptile and how can you become attached to something that you can't cuddle with and when hungry have to fear they might bite you and in truth I can't answer that. All I know is that she grabbed my heart when I first saw her and once she came home she just became part of the family. There is just something so beautiful about her. The basic natural un-domesticated power that surrounds her. It's awe inspiring at times.
It's been a debate on whether Keilala would eat pre-killed food. I thought it was definitely worth a try since she got bit once by a live rat and I was worried about infection because a rat bite can kill a snake
So we were defrosting a rat in a ziploc in the kitchen sink when the pest control people came. They were all like "You must have a snake because in all my years of pest control I have never seen a rat defrosting in a kitchen sink, or you just really need some pest control here." It was funny.
I guess my mom and dad were argueing about how to defrost the rat and my dad was like the microwave probably and I was like not uh. Microwaving can cause hot spots inside the rat and can internally burn your snake, and on the flip side if you don't defrost it completely you can freeze your snake from the inside out!
I put Keilala in her feedbox and it was like damnit, I can't take the rat out of the ziploc and open the box at the same time without dripping blood on the carpet, bleh. Mom goes "I'm not holding the rat but I'll open it for you." hehe. So my mom opens it and of course Keilala starts heading right for me. She hasn't eaten in two weeks because she was shedding and well a hungry snake headed your way is kinda scary. They are the most awesome predators. The way she looks it's just wow, but I truly don't want to be on the end of her hunt. So I threw the rat in there right at her head and slammed the box shut, lol. I looked in after a couple minutes and she had it all wrapped up and she ate it! WOOT! I feel so much better knowing she won't get bit anymore. *happy dance* Alot of people ask why anyone would get a reptile and how can you become attached to something that you can't cuddle with and when hungry have to fear they might bite you and in truth I can't answer that. All I know is that she grabbed my heart when I first saw her and once she came home she just became part of the family. There is just something so beautiful about her. The basic natural un-domesticated power that surrounds her. It's awe inspiring at times.
So how are you supposed to defrost a dead rat? Do you just leave it on the countertop for a couple of hours the way you'd defrost frozen people-food? What if you microwave it and then let it cool down some? Or does it need to be hot for the snake to eat it?
I never realized it could be so complicated.
The whole image of defrosting a rat in a Ziploc bag in the kitchen sink...that will absolutely have to go into a book somewhere.
Personally, I would have assumed you defrost a rat the same way you would anything else: first in the fridge, then in a Ziploc bag in a container of cold water?
Pets or people, it's always difficult to answer why we fall in love, isn't it?