How to stun/paralyze feeder mice/rats

ok... not sure if i'm posting in the right spot (mods feel free to move me! :) )
i fed my BP last night for the first time... and triiiiiiied to use frozen mice (which i use for my milk snake) the mouse was kind of small (i believe theyre called "hoppers") ...she wanted NOTHING to do with it... so my bf brought home a small rat and as im saying "oh man i feel so bad the poor thing is gona scream" hes says no it wont **WHACK** and thuds it against the wall :( he works at an LPS and that is what he has been taught to do... is this right? :( can i just stick it in the freezer for a few seconds? any other way of going about this? do they really need to be paralyzed or stunned? if so... any advice on how to get over the guilt of hearing the poor little thing smacking into the wall? or any advice for other ways of doing this?
thanks in advance ^.^

Cervical Dislocation

1. Restrain the rodent in a normal standing position on a firm, flat surface and grasp the base of the tail firmly with one hand

2. Place the thumb and first finger of the other hand against the back of the neck at the base of the skull

3. Quickly push forward and down with the hand restraining the head while pulling backward with the hand holding the tail base


CO2

http://www.rodentracks.com/DIY_Co2_Chamber.html

Please do not paralyze or stun any feeder animal. If you are going to kill them please do it quickly and humanely. Do not stick it in the freezer, this causes extreme pain as the animal goes into hypothermia.

You can use dry ice to kill them using Co2.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...and-Humane-too...

A mouse hopper is way too small for a ball python. Depending on how big your ball is, you should be using nothing smaller than rat crawlers.

Be sure you have warmed the prey item up enough so the snake thinks it's alive. Milk snakes are not picky about temperature or the "zombie dance". Some ball pythons require both.

This thread talks about Humane Euthanasia.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ane+euthanasia

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aldebono

Please do not paralyze or stun any feeder animal. If you are going to kill them please do it quickly and humanely. Do not stick it in the freezer, this causes extreme pain as the animal goes into hypothermia.

You can use dry ice to kill them using Co2.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...and-Humane-too...

A mouse hopper is way too small for a ball python. Depending on how big your ball is, you should be using nothing smaller than rat crawlers.

Be sure you have warmed the prey item up enough so the snake thinks it's alive. Milk snakes are not picky about temperature or the "zombie dance". Some ball pythons require both.

This thread talks about Humane Euthanasia.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ane+euthanasia

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thank you so much! i was just coming on here to say disregard this post and for someone to delete... was talking to a friend and i am going to try a larger frozen and dangling with tongs, i thought the hopper was way too small but thought it might still eat it as a snack or somethign... LPS was out of frozen everything.... or else i would have bought a bigger frozen :) Thanks for the links i appreciate it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slim

Cervical Dislocation

1. Restrain the rodent in a normal standing position on a firm, flat surface and grasp the base of the tail firmly with one hand

2. Place the thumb and first finger of the other hand against the back of the neck at the base of the skull

3. Quickly push forward and down with the hand restraining the head while pulling backward with the hand holding the tail base


CO2

http://www.rodentracks.com/DIY_Co2_Chamber.html

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what exactly does this do? if its not painful for the mouse i will try this if (s)he doesnt take the larger frozen/dancing mice/rat

Make every effort you can to get your BP to accept F/T. It will make you life a lot easier in the long run.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slim

Make every effort you can to get your BP to accept F/T. It will make you life a lot easier in the long run.

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I am not sure if "easier" is always right. If you have a lot of animals F/T can be a PIA. I fed 10 (#11 was in shed and refused) snakes F/T last night and it took a good 45 min after the rats were thawed. I still will do this because I believe it to be so much safer. But I can see why big breeders do not.

My big advice with F/T is do not be afraid to let the snake skip a meal or 3 to get hungry enough to eat the F/T. This may not always work, but give it a shot. Also warmth is key. I use a hair dryer for about 45 sec AFTER the rat is fully thawed, right before I offer it, and that does the trick. If they start to immediately track it, then it is hot enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jinx667

But I can see why big breeders do not.

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Many breeders, big or not, have their own rat colonies, and feeding live saves them a step or two, which saves them time. Time is money.

Whacking them like your bf did kills them instantly... So it may have seemed barbaric but it really wasnt...

that was my main problem about getting a snake was i felt bad about feeding rats and them screaming than i learned about the whole F/T thing and thats when i decided toget 1 for sure