humane way to prekill rats?

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Thanks for posting that Daniel. A humane method of euthanization is only as good as the practitioner. Just as the tail scalp can happen, with CO2 if you allow too much too soon, it can be a very painful death for the rodent.

The only reason I got into this discussion is my feelings about humanity towards animals. I don't like to see any animal suffer, even if it is "just a rodent" that is being fed to my snakes.

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Very well said Jamie! I don't particularily think it's funny to "LMAO" about degloving a living rats tail skin while trying to humanely euthanize. However we decide to feed our snakes we always must be aware of being safe and humane...not only for the snake but for the rodent. They both deserve that from a caring, responsible keeper.

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Originally Posted by jessie_k_pythons

I just KO the rodents now with a good thump on the head. if you do it right the right hind leg will twitch. that for some odd reason ups the feeding responce of my 2 BPs. if it is just laying there breathing, my male wont touch it ... it has to move.

if you do the thump really well it kills them on contact. no fight, just falls over.


you must think Im mean now.

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This is exactly what I do. All 3 of my BPs eat live or "stunned"; I usually stun them for Bela, as she is a "weird" eater; tends to mis-strike, gets a wobbly head while eating. It just makes it easier for her to eat stunned. Ginger and LaVey wuold ignore anything not hoppin-alive; I closely watch them until the rat is completely dead in their clutches. I also feed thawed to my BCI on occasion; he'd eat anything remotely resembling a rat, live, dead, or stuffed :)

Drop it in to an old pillow case and smack it as hard as you can against a brick wall.


Quick & humane and the rat never sees it coming.

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Originally Posted by tonysapp2

Quick & humane ...

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Unless you don't smack it "hard enough" ... ouch. ;)

-adam

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Originally Posted by tonysapp2

Drop it in to an old pillow case and smack it as hard as you can against a brick wall.


Quick & humane and the rat never sees it coming.

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Once again, not humane and doesn't belong in this thread. Maybe you should start a thread on how to throw things against a brick wall...

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Originally Posted by tonysapp2

Drop it in to an old pillow case and smack it as hard as you can against a brick wall.


Quick & humane and the rat never sees it coming.

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PLease use CO2 to stun them first befor you WHACK them.. Co2 is cheap and can be found at any welding supply store. It is easy to do and make a chamber.

Co2 is great because Co2 has rapid depressant, analgesic, and anesthetic effects.. the same properties we look for in the anesthesia gasses to put someone to sleep for surgery.

also please remember that neonatal rodents (about up until their eyes are opened) due to their inherent resistance to hypoxia( lack of oxygen rich blood), CO2 narcosis MUST be followed by decapitation ( or whacking) after the animals lose consciousness.

hope this helps
Chris

This was in the thread Jeanne posted, but in case you didn't go there, this page has very helpful and easy to follow instructions for making a CO2 chamber/euthanasia machine: http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/index.html

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Originally Posted by joepythons

You are right on the humane part,but when you take them and thump there heads on something i think thats more cruel.I basicly do what the snake does in a sense instead of squeezing him to death i break his neck.Another thing killing them this way compared to thumping them i have never had a rat get up and attack the snake.I was just giving this way as a possibility if its needed.

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I agree that you do it your way, and if you think about it the way you do it causes much less suffering than constriction. If I choose p/k, then I knock them out on a hard object and they are out quickly, but even so my snakes strike it and constrict it so even if it where to become conscious, it wouldn't make it through the constriction.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

When i have to kill my rats for future feedings i think my way is quick.I simply take the rat and hold him tight(i have welders gloves on so no biting here)and take a pair of pliers and squeeze his throat.It breaks his neck and he dies in minutes and sometimes you get the jumpers that your snake thinks its still alive.The only draw back is if you get to close to the head you get some blood out of the ears.

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he dies in minutes? how is that humane? :sigh2:

i'm so surprised at how inhumane many of the suggestions are here... my two female ratties are pregnant and i think i'm going to sell the babies... i just don't think i can kill them myself :( but if i do... i'll definitely use co2 - seems much less distressing to the poor little rattie. :mouse2:

It blows my mind how many people think thumping something cause a quick painless death.. I wish you could feel what a hammer to the back of your head feels like.. just because you see no movment doesnt mean they dont feel pain. ( no movment in a rats limbs does not mean they are dead, it just means you may have severed their spinal cord where the motor nerve exits the spinal cord, there can be the somatic nerves, pain nerves ,that are still intact and they can still feel everything.. especailly that nice hematoma that is building on there brain)

I dont understand, CO2 is so cheap and is everyhere, hell you can make it by just exhailing... please just stun them with the CO2 to put them in an amnestic state befor you go about your whackings. I wish some of you had surgery with zero anestetic and just with a paralitic,you couldnt move but feel every little whack and cut made.. then maybe, you would have a better idea of what they are feeling.

just my .02 cents.. maybe it will help you see that the spinal column and brain isn't so watered down as some of you make it