I want to breed some rats and euthanize with CO2, but my step dad says hit the heads

[californiakingsnake]

So yeah... I have a good collection of ball pythons now that all eat different sized rodents. So my step dad suggested me to breed my own rats and I do want to do this, but when I mentioned euthanizing with the co2 he said "just hold them by the tail and bang there heads on something" and I pointed out the humane way is with co2 and he said "grow a pair and just bang there heads" so does anybody have any advice on how to get him to understand? Alright now about the co2 chamber, can someone give me a link with plans to build one? Thank you.

[Mike41793]

If you do it correctly your stepdads method is just as humane imo. Whether its boppin them on the head or cervical dislocation.

Sorry i cant be of much help, i kinda just agree with him haha.

[LotusCorvus]

Ugh, I can't do the whacking method either - aside from the squick factor, my aim is terrible.

You don't have to go all fancy with a CO2 chamber. A plastic bin (like a storage tote), a small kritter keeper, and a quick trip to your local grocery store for a cheap hunk of dry ice is all you need. Dry ice in the kritter keeper, keeper in the tub, rats in the tub. Close the lid and give it like... 15-20 minutes.

[californiakingsnake]

I have no problem killing them that way, I just figure it would be cleaner and more humane using co2.

[satomi325]

Personally, I find bashing heads inhumane. You really have to be spot on and have enough force to smash the skull. If you feel uncomfortable doing it, you'll probably find yourself not hitting hard enough and/or missing, which will not kill the animal on the first hit. That would be inhumane. Just go with the dry ice in a container method. Its cleaner and easier.

Here is a sticky thread in the DIY section with instructions on how to construct your own co2 chamber.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?55509-My-Feeder-Euthanizer-(DIY-CO2-chamber)

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[californiakingsnake]

What about with a paintball gun co2 bottle? I used to play paintball alont and I have a couple 20 oz co2 tanks laying around. Ive read about people making chambers with them but I have no idea how. Any ideas?

[kdreptiles]

No, too much risk in doing it wrong. Plus you'd have to restrain them somehow, which is frightening to them. Much more frightening than just putting them in a container and letting them go to sleep.
I use a co2 chamber. I used to go the dry ice route, but it's banned where I live. Dumb college students making bombs out of it and whatnot. It's much more expensive to buy dry ice every time you need it than just constructing a chamber.

The co2 container
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Energy-40...7&keywords=co2
Remote coil (you can just get some tubing and a valve and do it yourself for much cheaper, but I'm not handy so I bought one of these)
http://www.amazon.com/UFD-Coiled-Rem...ds=remote+coil

Get a small sterilite container for the chamber, some small aquarium tubing and a plastic container filled with water for the oxygen escape, and you have yourself a great humane way to euthanize that will last.

[4Ballz]

No, too much risk in doing it wrong. Plus you'd have to restrain them somehow, which is frightening to them. Much more frightening than just putting them in a container and letting them go to sleep.
I use a co2 chamber. I used to go the dry ice route, but it's banned where I live. Dumb college students making bombs out of it and whatnot. It's much more expensive to buy dry ice every time you need it than just constructing a chamber.

The co2 container
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Energy-40...7&keywords=co2
Remote coil (you can just get some tubing and a valve and do it yourself for much cheaper, but I'm not handy so I bought one of these)
http://www.amazon.com/UFD-Coiled-Rem...ds=remote+coil

Get a small sterilite container for the chamber, some small aquarium tubing and a plastic container filled with water for the oxygen escape, and you have yourself a great humane way to euthanize that will last.

so the small container on the right is full of water, or partial? (thanks for sharing)

[snakesRkewl]

CO2 set ups are not expensive, I paid $20 for an aluminum 10lb tank, $3.50 for a tub, a few bucks for the quick connections.

[wolfy-hound]

Just remember that CO2 can be inhumane too if done incorrectly. Any method that kills painlessly or instantly is humane. If you do cervical dislocation properly, or bash their skull, it's instant. If you use CO2 properly, it's painless.

I will say if you plan on killing any number of rats in a single day, go with CO2. If you get tired doing manual killings, you're going to possibly get sloppy and then you can mess up. CO2 means you can do a large number all at once, neat and tidy. Just remember to introduce SOME of the CO2, then flood it(with CO2) once the rats look asleep.

I will say that it's not more "manly" to use a more messy brutal method to kill an animal. Use whichever method is best for you in ensuring a humane death and ignore the rest.