# Feeders > General Feeders >  How Do You Pre-Kill Rodents?

## CoolioTiffany

I just wanted to know how some of you pre-kill your rodents.  I'm kinda interested in knowing so since I will be breeding rats soon and stuff :Smile:

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## Jeremy78

I leave it to the snake. I only have one snake who is picky and eats live. Other than that it's all f/t. But my breeder kills by co2.

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## suzuki4life

I chase them down with my car, it seems more natural that way.

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_cmack91_ (11-07-2011),_Oxylepy_ (07-10-2010)

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## WesleyTF

I usually feed live or f/t (easier), but if I have a scaredy snake, sometimes I'll CO2 'um in a DIY chamber (incredibly easy to make one of these, BTW).

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## BuckeyeBalls

put a pencil behind the neck push down and pull tail back  :Good Job:

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_CoolioTiffany_ (04-19-2010)

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## 2kdime

When I fed pre-killed, I euthanized with a C02 chamber.

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## jben

> I chase them down with my car, it seems more natural that way.


LMAO...I feed live (easier) and F/T but since my rat colony is picking up i'm going to build one of those DIY CO2 chambers.

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## tomfromtheshade

The CO2 chamber is the way to go. When you have to snuff out a bunch at once you need a clean easy way to do it. The CO2 does that.

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_Dave763_ (04-23-2010)

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## Elise.m

When I fed pre killed, I had the guys at the store kill them. They did it just by slamming them against a hard surface. I don't go there anymore though. The people I get my feeders from have a CO2 chamber though.

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## BiggBaddWolf

Well I definately dont shoot them, would not be a whole lot left after I got done with my .357 Mag!! :ROFL:  :ROFL: 

Actually I just buy f/t from a local store

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## Beardedragon

I stick them in a bag and then fill it up with Canned Air. Quick easy and painless!

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## ls1goat04

golf club.

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## dembonez

my parents won't let me breed but imo co2 is the best i know people think smacking is better but they don't always die they still have brain activy sometimes...i don't want to start fights but i just think anything but co2 is cruel.




just my opinion plz don't hate  :Sad:

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## Greez1986

> I chase them down with my car, it seems more natural that way.


You too   :Very Happy:   I thought I was the only one  :ROFL:

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## Christina

I feed live to my girl at home, but at the shop we just whack them and toss them in.

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## mrmertz

> I chase them down with my car, it seems more natural that way.


 :ROFL:

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## mrmertz

The pet shop where I buy our F/T's and P/K's does their P/K's by simply placing a long screwdriver across it's neck and then one quick yank on its tail. Very quick kill.  I don't like to see any animal suffer, even items that are about to become snake food.

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## moravaguy

i used to be all about the cervical dislocation (i think thats what it is) untill i saw a buddy of my screw up and the rat about beat his @$$

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## dembonez

i buy F/t now thank god lol but i would also try this method from clockwork orange!




YouTube - Clockwork Orange Scene 2

and make them watch miley sirus surely the rats will die!!

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## Josh Emmons

I use a heavey spoon, i try to break their neck so they dont feel much pain. but i hit them as hard as possible, i think it is a way better way than by snake, (takes a while)

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## mykee

With this:
http://www.strictlyballs.ca/co2chamber.htm

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## Tyrannosaurus Rex

> The CO2 chamber is the way to go. When you have to snuff out a bunch at once you need a clean easy way to do it. The CO2 does that.


If i build a Co2 chamber will i constantly need new Co2 cartridges? :Snake:

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## Josh Emmons

> If i build a Co2 chamber will i constantly need new Co2 cartridges?


no. i use c02 for rats, you can get dry ice. put them in a chamber with 2 holes on top, and get the dry ice, you dont need alot, only 80 cents worth, (it is a nice big clump).

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## mainbutter

cervical dislocation

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## Punkymom

I tried cervical dislocation when I first got my snake and yeah...I tore the skin off the tail of one of the rats!  I FREAKED OUT!  So I abandoned THAT plan and now if I ever do have to kill (I try to just buy frozen) I put them in a pillow case and slam them against something hard.  I have done this with dozens of rats and 90% of the time I kill them first shot.  Never takes more than 2 but the ones that it DID take more than once were right in the beginning when I was trying to figure out how hard to hit them.  That being said, however, if I ever have to do it again, I'll just do the CO2 chamber since I finally found a good source!

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## bad-one

Co2 if I have a group to put down. If it is just one or two animals cervical dislocation works great.

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## cinderbird

i either feed F/T or live on the rare occasion. guess im not much help here sorry :/

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## MikeV

When I get my 3 week old BP around the 25th this month, this is something i know im going to have to do  :Sad: 

My plan is to put a screwdriver on the back of thier necks to hold them down, and pull on the tail very hard

This instantly kills them and paralyzes them so they dont feel a thing, at all, which is why everybody I have asked recommended this techqiue. Its a lot cheaper then the Gass chamber (lol, obvious point is obvious) AND its just as humane if done correct

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## kilabyte

I've had to do 1 or 2 mice & a rat  once in a while when they are not interested in eating. I have no place to keep them alive. I toss 1 at a time in ziplock & shoot some dust off in. They go to sleep. Had zip locks & dust off already in house so came in handy. Then into the freezer. Eazy peezy  :Wink:

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## Jeremy78

> I've had to do 1 or 2 mice & a rat  once in a while when they are not interested in eating. I have no place to keep them alive. I toss 1 at a time in ziplock & shoot some dust off in. They go to sleep. Had zip locks & dust off already in house so came in handy. Then into the freezer. Eazy peezy


Doesn't dust off have a bitterant in it? Won't that make em yucky to the snake?

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## kilabyte

> Doesn't dust off have a bitterant in it? Won't that make em yucky to the snake?


You are correct. They add a bitterant to try & discourage idiots from inhaling it I guess to try to get high. Must do some brain damage as mice & rats don't do to well with it. :Smile:  I don't think the snakes taste it or even smell it as I have had no problems. After freezing them I soak them in hot tap water to thaw & then blow dry with heat. By that time if anything got on the rodent I'm sure it is gone. I think I only did a pre-kill once & the snake hammered and ate pretty fast also so I don't think by them being exposed & breathing it in would have a problem with the snake.

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## stratus_020202

I feed live. I'm getting ready to switch to p/k. I've tried f/t and my snakes just won't do it. probably becuase they've been on live for so long. I'm going to do the dry ice thing, or CO2.

I tried cervical dislocation. I totally sucked at it, becuase it was no quick death. I cried all night, and the rat now lives in my basement becuase I don't have the heart to put it through any more. I use a butter knife, put it behind his head, and pulled on his tail as hard as I could. I tried it three times. By the third time I was so shaken that I was torturing this poor animal, I couldn't do it any more. Lol. Never again. Unless I get someone with experience to physically show me how.

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## Bpmike1208

FYI to any1 using CO2 to make it more humane. it really isnt its like drowning ever breath in right before u take a sip of soda u lose ur breath hard to breath like drowning ,and it sucks most people seem to think that co2 doesnt hurt but they mistake it with CO thats the stuff that puts u to sleep and u sufficate, CO2 is nasty stuff

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## CopperNightShade

> I feed live. I'm getting ready to switch to p/k. I've tried f/t and my snakes just won't do it. probably becuase they've been on live for so long. I'm going to do the dry ice thing, or CO2.
> 
> I tried cervical dislocation. I totally sucked at it, becuase it was no quick death. I cried all night, and the rat now lives in my basement becuase I don't have the heart to put it through any more. I use a butter knife, put it behind his head, and pulled on his tail as hard as I could. I tried it three times. By the third time I was so shaken that I was torturing this poor animal, I couldn't do it any more. Lol. Never again. Unless I get someone with experience to physically show me how.


I have always found the cervical dislocation to be the fastest/easiest/most humane way of dispatching with feeders.  It just takes a slightly different approach they what you were using.  Instead of a butter knife, if you can use your thumb I find it to be easier.  Here is what I do...

-grab feeder by base of tail and dangle over a towel.  make sure the towel is heavy or otherwise fixed in place so it won't go anywhere

-lower feeder until it grabs onto the towel with its *front* paws only, so that it is at an angle.  They should hold onto the towel and stop squirming for a minute

-place either your thumb (held perpendicular to the feeder's spine) or your thumb and index finger (pinched together to make a v shape cupping the base of the feeder's skull) in position

-quickly press firmly *down* and sharply *forward* at the base of the head.  simultaneously pull sharply *back* and *up* on the tail.

Think of this way more as cracking a whip than pulling something apart, and consider your angles.  Once I got this down pat I have found it to be the best way for me.  And by the way, I actually had a friend teach me this who is a PhD in genetics and has dispatched thousands of mice in her career - it is tried and true.  Don't worry if they twitch afterwards a bit, that is common.

Good luck!

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_stratus_020202_ (07-13-2010)

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## derrabe

I only have one prekilled eater so I will just take one of the live ones (usually the one that tries to bite me) and throw it as hard as I can against a brick wall.  May sound gruesome but actually i have made a mess yet and it dieds instantly.  I used to use a hammer but that didnt always work with the first whack.  The wall is quicker.

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## Animals As Leaders

Dry Ice c02 setup is what I use.  I only have to do every so often when I breed rodents otherwise I buy f/t.

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## Kyle@theHeathertoft

Right now I find it cost-effective to buy frozen feeders from a local supplier, they use C02. Once I reach a point where I can cut costs by breeding my own feeders, I will be making a homemade C02 tank to do it myself.

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## ice#1

mice just flip them in the back of the head with my finger for rats i use a pencil or pen to smack them in the head.

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## ice#1

stratus_020202 i had that problem with my burm for a bit. warm them up a Lil warmer then usual and use some tongs to keep the dead prey moving a Lil or even tie a string around the tail (tie it so it comes off easily but tight enough so you can make the mouse dance around more or less)

or could switch them over to f/t by using fresh killed(by fresh killed i mean it is still kicking) and drop it right on the snake so he feels the movement. do that for a few feedings then move the prey a lil farther away (make sure he is out of his hide before offering food. then after a few feeding of him having to move to get it. then start with a f/t drop it right on the snake 

or just keep offering only f/t and he will take it before he lets himself starve to death 

my green tree pythons got a food drive like no others i have seen.(even my burm who takes a few minute before she starts looking for it) they come off perches in search of the food they smell f/t, pre-killed, live it don't matter they smell it they go looking for it till they find it and it only takes them a minute at most till they find it no-matter where in the cage i put it

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## dembonez

i wait till they aren't looking then plant drugs on them, call the police.

when the cops find him with the drugs they will arrest him, he will loose in court and be put in jail.

not getting along with the other inmates due to being a rat he will become extremely depressed and at some point kill himself.


thats when i take it and feed it to my snake i don't kill it and it dies! guilt free! 




lol but seriously i feed all F/T but in my opinion the most humane way to do it would be with Co2

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## Rhasputin

Does anyone REALLY shoot their rodents? Or are the 4 votes for shooting just jokes?  :ROFL:

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## steveboos

I just slam them up against something real quick, but if i need a lot done i can get them CO2'ed pretty easily, but when it's just a little mouse hopper or small rat, a good smack does the trick.

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## Zach Spyker

I used to do cervical dislocation but it can be a little messy if you don't do it just right ( nose bleeds taring skin) when the amount and size of the prey increased I switched to a diy CO2 chamber. Which I find much better for both my sanity and for the mice and rats. I have a respect and appreciation for all animals. I enjoy keeping & breeding my own feeders (rats, mice, roaches) I used to keep rats as pets years ago before I kept reptiles, so killing each one individually by C.D. when you have 10-20 to do got a little mentally tough for me. when you do co2 properly they don't freak out and go to "sleep" relatively quickly.

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## pixie6710

i bash them againt something. only i dont kill them. i stun them so they dont really feel it then they get eateded lol.  i hate killing thing. i absolutely hate spiders i try not to kill them. i saw one on my wall one time and i tried shoo-ing it outta my room and accidently stepped on it. i almost cried. but i got over it within 5 min

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## Cody John Steele

ruler behind the head, and give the body a quick jerk.

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## snakesRkewl

CO2 only, no bashing here...

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## HENRY760

:Mouse2:   :Stab:  
J/K..

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## jasbus

For bulk deaths, I use the tried and true-  CO2.

I go for the easier method though.  Why spend all the money on all the hoses and crap?
I put them in a huge rubbermaid, fill a bowl 1/2 with water, drop in $0.25 worth of dry ice, 90 seconds later, it looks like Jim Jones visited.

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## ultramad

I use a mains powered version of the RatZapper.  The Rat/Mouse/ASF walks in to the box and zap ready to be eaten.

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## MitsuMike

I use my snake to pre-kill and once they are dead they eat the rat..... :Dancin' Banana:

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## Sarin

I've tried a lot of methods...

At first I just threw them in a baggie and in the freezer. Then I learned that was very painful so I tried finding better ways to euthanize.

I then tried the "whacking" method. Worked very well for me at first. I just had them by the tail, found a tile floor, and threw them head first. They were gone pretty instantly. Only thing is when I did this I only had to do it once in a blue moon. The rats got bloody noses and it just wasn't pretty when I had more then a few to do..

So, I made a C02 Chamber. Liked it.. at first. The rats looked to be suffering and they took a few minutes to die. It was probably me not doing it right but still.

Then I finally tried the dislocation method. I had 16 rats to euthenize so I decided to try this. I put a screwdriver on the neck and pulled on the tail.. They were gone instantly. No pain, nothing. And it was fast. I had all 16 done within a few minutes.

So my conclusion? Dislocation is definitely IMO the easiest, fastest, and most humane way to euthenize feeder rodents. You just have to have the guts to do so.

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## mainbutter

> IThen I finally tried the dislocation method. I had 16 rats to euthenize so I decided to try this. I put a screwdriver on the neck and pulled on the tail.. They were gone instantly. No pain, nothing. And it was fast. I had all 16 done within a few minutes.
> 
> So my conclusion? Dislocation is definitely IMO the easiest, fastest, and most humane way to euthenize feeder rodents. You just have to have the guts to do so.


Same experience here.

One you go dislocation, you never go.... back?  It may not be a rhyming saying, but it's amazing how quick and simple it is.

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## SnakeKB

Cervical Dislocation. Smack the rat in the head with pliers and then take the pliers and grab the rat by the neck and pull up with the tail.

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## KingPythons

Smack them on my wrist!

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## Chris Knowles

Today was my first time pre-killing. Tried a CO2 chamber, it was taking a long time for them to die. I felt a little bad about it, so I went with the screwdriver-dislocation method. That was definitely quicker. I'm sticking with that way from now on.
And my Rosy struck immediately, and a lot harder to boot. I've never seen her strike that fast before.

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## Herp4life11

I feed live but sometimes I CO2 the mice/rats/asf's. I just do the cooler and dry ice CO2 chamber. Its easy and really cheap :Good Job:

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## Strange_Evil

I feed live and let my Ball python do the work,she is a quick killer.I watch closely and make sure the mouse don't bite her, ounce it is dead  i turn off the lights and let her eat in privacy.

I tried a home made C02 chamber last week, and i must say i found my self feeling sorry for the mice. It took like 10min, so i find it faster to let my snake kill them and if anything i would just give them one good wack on the head,

I made my "Co2 chamber" Following this video it was cheap and easy, just took a while to be effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKjrSKDG69A

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