Weird smelling mice, hard to explain

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Tigerlily

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So I bought some pinkies from someone different to who I normally go to. The mice look fine, but when I defrost them in warm water I can't help but notice this weird smell. I don't know how to describe it, it's like a wet dog smell. I also have smelled a similar smell on dishes that had eggs on it and weren't washed properly, or sometimes even if I take a sip of water after eating day old chicken (that hasn't gone off) I can smell it on the glass.

(No, I don't have OCD and my sense of smell is actually pretty bad so I know I'm not imagining it.)

My mother once told me "it's just the smell of protein" when I complained about the dishes.

Anyone know if these mice are ok to feed? I just bought 50 so I don't really want to throw them away if I can avoid it.
 
Possibly you might've slightly cooked the pinkies in the warm water...

I once tried to speed defrost mice in a microwave & the smell of half cooked rodents was nauseating.
 
What temperature is the water you use to defrost your rodents? From what I have read no more than blood temperature (luke warm 36oC) should be needed, the rodents will take around 2 hours to defrost and should be kept dry in a plastic bag while defrosting.
 
Using warm water to defrost isn't really nessisary. I take a rat out of the freeze the night before, put it in a Chinese container in the fridge for the next day and when I get home it is fully defrosted and only sits in warm water for 1 minute max just enough to warm it so my snake can sense it.
 
Rats and mice smell. Warm them up and they smell more. You don't need to throw them away.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
Would feeding a partial cooked rodent be harmful?

The only downside I see is possibly less nutrients...
 
Nothing wrong with defrosting in 60 degree water. Defrosting rodents have a unique smell, smells strange when mixxed with water, I agree similar but not quite wet dog smell.
 
I heat up rodents in hot tap water, normally about 60-65c. This gives them a warm body temperature an seems to attract the python more so then the smell, remember pythons normally eat live warm animals not cold dead corpses.


Rick
 
I heat up rodents in hot tap water, normally about 60-65c. This gives them a warm body temperature an seems to attract the python more so then the smell, remember pythons normally eat live warm animals not cold dead corpses.


Rick

Yeah I use really hot tap water too. My snake gets hungry, I don't wanna keep her waiting for food if she doesn't have to.
 
THanks guys, like the last few responses I heat up my mice in a bowl of hot tap water too. I don't know the exact temperature but I'd say around 40 degrees? I leave them in there for around 30 minutes and sometimes I drain and refill for an extra 10 minutes to make sure they're completely defrosted.

Do you think I actually could be cooking them even at that temperature, because they are so small? (two 1-2g pinkies in a bowl a bit smaller than a salad bowl) The thing is, I never noticed this smell with the mice from the other seller. Why only these mice?

@Senator358 I don't know about rats but 've never had ANY frozen mice smell before, even when defrosted. Not their regular "mouse" smell, not the smell I'm talking about (which is very different) What do yours smell like?
[MENTION=33719]Cypher69[/MENTION] that made me gag and wish we had a dislike button.:x

So is the general consensus that it's ok for me to feed them? She's acting pretty hungry...

- - - Updated - - -
[MENTION=37722]Rogue5861[/MENTION] How do you get tap water that hot???
 
Instantanous hot water system, set to about 75c from standard without a controller.


Rick
 
I can guarantee that when you have a mouse, rat or rabbit explode when your snake coils it you will never heat at 75c again. May as well just put it in the microwave.
 
I can guarantee that when you have a mouse, rat or rabbit explode when your snake coils it you will never heat at 75c again. May as well just put it in the microwave.

That is what the tap puts out, i heat the food in 60c water and let it cool down to about 38-40c before being offered. Defrost overnight in the fridge.

Never had any explode so far so dont really see an issue with it.


Rick
 
1-2gram pinkies can sit in cold water for a minute and defrost. They dont need a 40 minute soak in hot water, that is when they probably WILL pop.
 
Oh man I've been feeding my CTS half-cooked mice all this time...:| thanks for the heads up Trimeresurus
 
No worries. It was more for your convenience than anything. The snakes obviously fine and honestly I don't think it's a problem but yeah, the pinkies defrost really quickly.
 
I must be the odd man out lol, i don't use water to thaw mine out, have always had a heat mat and ceramic bowl with a lid on it, the 5w heat pad only ever gets the bowl and contents up to 42 deg c (tested with heat gun) does not take very long to heat them for feeding and no exploding rats/mice/quail, this idea would not be very effective for the bigger operations but does me fine for my 3 snakes. :) ............................Ron
 
The natural body temperature of mice and rats is approximately 37[SUP]o[/SUP]C. Heating them to ensure they register as prey via the heat pits of a python would not require temperatures in excess of 40[SUP]o[/SUP]C.

You really do need an accurate thermometer or IR heat gun as part of your basic equipment for keeping reptiles. Apart from food, periodic checking of temperatures in enclosures, irrespective of whatever else you have there to measure temperatures, should be a regular part of the keeping regime (maybe once a month or more often if you have the time).


The smell given off by eggs that have gone “bad” is due to hydrogen sulfide. The smell given off by cooked eggs is definitely not the same, although it is strong and distinctive. Hydrogen sulfide is produced by bacteria decomposing organic matter in the absence of oxygen (anaerobic decomposition). I would strongly suspect that whatever the detectable scent is, it is not hydrogen sulfide. You would be bitterly complaining about it if it were hydrogen sulfide. So I reckon you have nothing too much to worry about.


Blue



 
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