longest friggin five minutes of my life...

Aleesha, It can be difficult when rats are both feeders and pets. :hug: :hug: :hug:

:licking::hug::petting::hug::licking::hug::petting: Ooooohhh HONEEEEE!!! That really suX! :oops:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

sorry nate... i feel so horrible. i don't know how i'll ever do this again. they just would not die. :(

so in the end... there was still one alive... asleep but alive... (we could see it breathing) so my hubby popped it into a ziploc bin and popped it in the freezer really fast so it wouldn't wake up... i just stood there a cried.

what a horrific experience. hopefully i'll be able to better 'time' my litters so none need to put down again.

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see now i feel really bad. i was just tryin to get you to put a little pep in your step but i went over the line. I apologize. :hug:

I used the dry ice method a long time ago when i first got into ball pythons and 5 minute later i opened the cooler only to find them still breathing and i felt sooooo terrible. It's a little upsetting, and there are alternatives. You'll figure an easier way..i promise :)

I'm sorry it was like that Leeshie.. you really might want to make a proper Co2 chamber with a Co2 bottle and everything.. makes it much simpler and easier.

Remember that Co2 has natural anesthetic properties.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

sorry nate... i feel so horrible. i don't know how i'll ever do this again. they just would not die. :(

so in the end... there was still one alive... asleep but alive... (we could see it breathing) so my hubby popped it into a ziploc bin and popped it in the freezer really fast so it wouldn't wake up... i just stood there a cried.

what a horrific experience. hopefully i'll be able to better 'time' my litters so none need to put down again.

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All the better to get yourself a nice cooler and CO2 wont have to worry about that, and we wont have to worrie about a crying aleesh! :hug:

Aleesha... first don't feel bad. You have no reason to. A 5 minute exposure to a Co2 concentration of that level would hardly make them anything but a tiny bit sleepy, if even that. A rodent that's experiencing too high a level of Co2 will most certainly let you know, the fact that they weren't freaking out when you popped the lid proves they likely didn't even notice.

I've used a system just like that as well, and trust me, it's not as bad as it seems. When I first built a system using compressed Co2 I used WAY too high of a concentration and the rats let me know RIGHT away.

Oh, hon... I'm so sorry that you had to go through that :hug: I probably would have cried, too...

Hopefully if you have to do it again, you can find a method that makes you more at ease about the process.

if we ever do it again... it's gotta be a more reliable way. it's hard enough to do this but to do it again and again and again... that was just horrible.

today isn't a good day... i'm still really weepy... i spent months getting ready to do this and i thought i was ready... but tonight... i don't feel very ready at all. i feel horrible.

when i'm feeling better i'll try to read everyone's suggestions. but right now... i am so sad. thanks for the responses everyone.

I feel like total crap after too.:(

I've never heard of this method...and not to make you feel worse but 30 minutes is way to long. As everyone has said CO2 works very quickly. The zip and freezer method right off the bat seems like it would work much faster than the mess you had to go through.