how do you kill your rats when feeding pre-killed?

Check out the DIY section has a nice Cooler/Dry Ice method that works great :gj:. I feed live though, I did the frozen thing and found out that my snakes feed better on live. I never feed anything over a Small Rat because teeth are for the most part are small and usually never do a lot of damage if they do bite.

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Originally Posted by adam_degel

is that a joke? lol.. i dunno its just easier.. i understand the rats i feed now are young and cant do much damage but as they get older i dont want them taking chunks of snake out..

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I feed live to almost 50 ball pythons from pinky rats up to small medium rats. i've never had a chunk taken out of any of my snakes. The most "damage" if you can even call it that, has been an insignificant scratch that's happened about 5 times in over 5000 live feedings.

If I were to pre-kill, a CO2 chamber is the only humane (and respectful) method.

I find the gas chamber to be worse than a quick blow to the head. I mean, I personally rather be whacked than suddenly stuffed into a chamber, and consciously deprived of air until I blacked out. I have watched a rat suffocate before it's not really very humane IMO. It's fine for the people who don't have the guts to whack them... but I will stick to whacking if I find myself having to feed live (i dont normally feed live.) There is a certain way to do it so that you kill them on the first blow.

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Originally Posted by aSnakeLovinBabe

I find the gas chamber to be worse than a quick blow to the head. I mean, I personally rather be whacked than suddenly stuffed into a chamber, and consciously deprived of air until I blacked out. I have watched a rat suffocate before it's not really very humane IMO. It's fine for the people who don't have the guts to whack them... but I will stick to whacking if I find myself having to feed live (i dont normally feed live.) There is a certain way to do it so that you kill them on the first blow.

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ive thought about that too, a good hit on the head and they never knew it was comming, co2 is kinda slow its gotta be like having a severe asthma attack

I have fed both live and f/t. I breed my own rats and live is way more efficient and less of a PITA IMO. I whack the rats on the head. I seem to waste too many f/t because some will sometimes eat them and sometimes they won't and I don't like to re freeze more than once. I have wasted as many as 8 rats in a feeding with f/t. I don't whack them all the time some will only take them alive and moving so if they don't get eaten they live another week till next feeding day. Not saying my way is right or wrong it'sjust the way I do it.

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Originally Posted by aSnakeLovinBabe

but I will stick to whacking if I find myself having to feed live (i dont normally feed live.) There is a certain way to do it so that you kill them on the first blow.

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Ummm, if you whack, then you aren't feeding live. :confused:

I tell them a funny joke and it kills.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Ummm, if you whack, then you aren't feeding live. :confused:

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Umm I think I said I don't whack them all the time cause some of them won't take it if it ain't moving about.

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Originally Posted by aSnakeLovinBabe

I find the gas chamber to be worse than a quick blow to the head. I mean, I personally rather be whacked than suddenly stuffed into a chamber, and consciously deprived of air until I blacked out. I have watched a rat suffocate before it's not really very humane IMO. It's fine for the people who don't have the guts to whack them... but I will stick to whacking if I find myself having to feed live (i dont normally feed live.) There is a certain way to do it so that you kill them on the first blow.

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Both methods are listed as human way to euthanize rodents (CO2 chambers and cervical dislocation) the problem with cervical dislocation is that the majority of people are not efficient at it leaving the rodent alive but paralyzed (not what I call human).

With CO2 chamber there is also a notion of number I could not see myself doing cervical dislocation on a hundred of feeders at the time so CO2 chamber is the fastest and most efficient way to do so as well as human.

Bottom line it’s whatever works for the owner and whatever is human to the prey................personally I still prefer to feed live. ;)

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Originally Posted by BLong7211

Umm I think I said I don't whack them all the time cause some of them won't take it if it ain't moving about.

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I don't believe I quoted you. My response was to who I quoted. :rolleyes: