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I let them thaw out before skinning, and that sometimes takes a while for rats. The actual skinning process itself is relatively simple, all I use is a small scissors and my hands. Doesn't take more than a minute or two. I start with a small slit in the throat and then cut lengthwise down the abdomen. The hide peels off basically like a jacket, although it is a bit difficult to get it off the base of the tail and the face. If you cut too deeply, you'll disembowel the rodent. The eyes and testicles often come away with the hide and I've found that dead, butchered feeder rodents smell like high quality roast beef. Kodo isn't large enough to swallow whole rats yet, so I butcher the carcass into small pieces. He tends to chew up the larger bones before swallowing, even with skulls he then doesn't eat, which I have been told is very unusual for a carnivorous lizard.