Been awhile, back this time with a housing question

Im a fresh killed man myself. I do however have a backup stock of frozen in case I cant get the mice and rats from the local stores.
I just give the mouse a good wack, then do a little mouse dance with tongs in front of Jaggy or bones and WAM. Done deal :)
Frozen is great and all but I figure a mouse that has just died 2 minutes prior to is the perfect temp. Sometimes its hard to tell with frozen thawed.

My oldest BP, approx. 3 years old, never would except anything but live until about a month ago. Now he has had 3 nice plump f/k rats since then. Still cant get him to take f/t though. So dont give up, I was just about ready to give up (been trying for 6 months off and on) when he finally took it, and hasnt looked back since (knocking on wood). My younger BP, dont know how old, will eat f/t or f/k and without doing the mousy jiggle. All I have to do is toss it in his tank and he will take it.

Hey Tray,
If money isn't a issue check out APcages ( Animal Plastics) at www.wantapet.com
I just got mine Wednesday, a T11 48"x24"x18" with belly heat routed in the bottom. They also have several options for lights.
Nice sturdy cages that hold temps and humidity real well and clean up is a breeze.
They make out to be a good display case as well. Easy for viewing.
Mine ran about $319.00 w/shipping.
Check it out and let me know what you think

Interesting. I didn't care for the website layout much, but the products look amazing. I really wish I knew about them back when I had bearded dragons.

Couple of questions. I didn't see any examples of the belly heatpad you mentioned (just as an option to buy). How much of the cage does it cover, and can you adjust the heat on it or does it regulate temps well enough as is?

Also, how hard is it to put together? I'm always enjoy a good project, but I'm planning on moving in about a year and I'm just curious if it would be a pain to take it apart.

Now a question for all you freshly killed rodent feeders out there. How do you get a fresh kill? Personally I hate rats, but I'm a wuss in the fact that I don't think I could bash it's brains in myself. Of course I find it fine and dandy to feed it alive to my snake, guess I'm a hypocrite.

But if you guys have a more humane way you kill your rats, how do you do it? I'd be willing to try fresh killed so long as no bashing is involved. What are your methods?

I would definitely recommend using Carbon Dioxide. According to a study done at Stanford, it is the most humane way to euthanize rodents/small mammals. I'm sure you can find information on it through google, but here's the quick, easy version from me.

You will need a tall, airtight container. A tall rubbermaid or garbage can should be fine. You will also need a margarine or similar small plastic container with a lid and dry ice (CO2).

First, cut a hole in the lid of the small container. Then, fill it part way with water and set the dry ice inside as well. Set the small container down on the bottom of the large container, and partly seal the larger container. Wait several minutes, to allow the large container to fill with carbon dioxide. Once it is ready, just put the rodent inside the larger container and it should be instantly knocked out followed by death. Be sure to only use your gas chamber on one rodent at a time. Also, air out the dead rodent before feeding, so the smell of the carbon dioxide will dissipate. Also, be careful not to inhale the carbon dioxide yourself as it could knock you out cold.

I was going to use this method, but the last feeding before I was going to make the switch from live to prekilled, the pet store was out of mice so I just bought a frozen one just to try, and I got lucky and my BP took it. Most likely, I will use still use CO2 in the future for other snakes though.

RE: ANIMAL PLASTICS - the routed in heat option is fantastic - these guys keep snakes and designed these enclosures specifically to cater to reptiles. Animal Plastics is great if you have the money to get a cage from them and the routed in heat is a great option. You will need a thermostat for the routed in heat - I recommend the BAH-1000 http://www.bigappleherp.com

Also check out www.boaphileplastics.com Very nice cages and affordable. Perhaps the 422D would work for him?