DIY Euthanasia

And for small scale euthanasia, paintball canisters are only $20 and $2-3 to fill them up with CO2 at a sporting good store.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Two humane methods of euthanasia is:
1) Using essentially the same method as the dry ice method. But instead of Dry ice, it's a Co2 canister(such as the kind used for paint balling) with a release valve. Do a slow gradual release to knock out the rats first, then a rapid release of gas to euthanize them. They tend to panic more if they're awake all the way to the point of death. Plus it's a painful process. Co2 gas stings the nose and eyes, so it's better if they are unconscious for the most part.

or

2) Cervical Dislocation: Breaking the neck.
Put your rodent onto a flat surface, such as a table or counter. You can use something like screwdriver or stick to put behind it's neck. Push the rodent into the table with the screwdriver behind it's neck with one hand and hold onto it's tail with the other hand. Pull on the base of the tail until you feel/hear the vertebrae pop several times and the rat is dead. It takes like 2 seconds.

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I've done both of these, but I prefer #1. Since I have a CO2 canister with regulator, I use that for the most part. If I only have one or two animals (like if I need to buy a couple mice for my rosy boas), I'll use #2 because it is very quick and I won't have to waste the CO2 for just a couple animals.

If you do use cervical dislocation, beware that pulling the tail alone can sometimes result in degloving, especially on larger animals. I can't tell you how likely it will happen or under what exact circumstances, just it is a possibility to be wary of. If you hold the tail and back legs, the risk is greatly reduced. (I hold the back legs and tail, and have never had a degloving occur).

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Quote:

---

Originally Posted by satomi325

Two humane methods of euthanasia is:
1) Using essentially the same method as the dry ice method. But instead of Dry ice, it's a Co2 canister(such as the kind used for paint balling) with a release valve. Do a slow gradual release to knock out the rats first, then a rapid release of gas to euthanize them. They tend to panic more if they're awake all the way to the point of death. Plus it's a painful process. Co2 gas stings the nose and eyes, so it's better if they are unconscious for the most part.

or

2) Cervical Dislocation: Breaking the neck.
Put your rodent onto a flat surface, such as a table or counter. You can use something like screwdriver or stick to put behind it's neck. Push the rodent into the table with the screwdriver behind it's neck with one hand and hold onto it's tail with the other hand. Pull on the base of the tail until you feel/hear the vertebrae pop several times and the rat is dead. It takes like 2 seconds.

---

I've done both of these, but I prefer #1. Since I have a CO2 canister with regulator, I use that for the most part. If I only have one or two animals (like if I need to buy a couple mice for my rosy boas), I'll use #2 because it is very quick and I won't have to waste the CO2 for just a couple animals.

If you do use cervical dislocation, beware that pulling the tail alone can sometimes result in degloving, especially on larger animals. I can't tell you how likely it will happen or under what exact circumstances, just it is a possibility to be wary of. If you hold the tail and back legs, the risk is greatly reduced. (I hold the back legs and tail, and have never had a degloving occur).

I switched to holding my dry ice container above the container with the animals in it, with the lid open. The co2 sinks, so i just let a bit fall in, give it a bit of time, and do it again, slowly, until everyone is out, then i pour it on heavy.

It's still not an exact science, but it's better than just pouring it on heavy from the start.