Prekilling question

Well my female has still not fed for me. I read on another thread that a prekilling mouse and just leaving it in her hide with her and most likely itd be gone by the morning. Well my question is,

a. What would be the best way to prekill it for this purpose? (Even if its gross ill do it, all I can think about is her eating)

b. If I do leave it in there overnight, that wouldnt be enough time for the mouse to start to go bad, and or rot right? :weirdface

Thanks a bunch!! :snake:

If its one mouse there are a few ways:

1. CO2 poisoning via dry ice
2. Severing the spinal cord via a pencil, screw driver or other implement pressed against the back of the neck and pulling on the tail in an upward and backward quickly till a snap or pop is heard.
3. Blunt force trauma to head or neck, I'm sure you cam think of a few ways...

The only problem I've ever had with prekilling them and just leaving them in my snake's cage is : if the mouse gets too cold (after being dead for a while) your snake may not be interested in it. I prekill my mice and basically dangle them in the snake cage until my girl strikes. (usually doesn't take long, but they will be more attracted to the movement) If you DO leave it in her cage, I'd maybe recommend leaving it where it might stay warm (thanks to a uth), but not hot enough to cook it (snakes can't digest cooked food/meat).

Hope that helps.

Btw: I use the "blunt trama" method. One good blow to the head/neck so there's no pain (or suffocation like with CO2). Just some advice for that though-don't hesitate. If you do, it will take more than one hit and WILL cause the mice/rats pain, and I think that part would be cruel.

Leaving it overnight shouldn't cause any problems. With some, it's the only way they'll eat.

Can someone tell my why they can't digest cooked meat? Much of the nutrition may be destroyed, but I still see no reason why they wouldn't be able to break it down.

I don't know why people advocate Carbon Dioxide poisoning, as it's basically depriving them of oxygen, which in my experience is very painful. Quickly destroy the brain.

I prefer suffocation to whacking.. but to each his own, I guess.

Have you tried leaving a live rat pup in with her overnight? My finickiest of feeders seem to perk right up if I leave some defenseless, live morsel in their tub overnight. Just a thought.

I don't mean to argue too much, but you didn't clearly explain why you prefer suffocation. Of course that's not a problem if you didn't intend to.

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

I don't mean to argue too much, but you didn't clearly explain why you prefer suffocation. Of course that's not a problem if you didn't intend to.

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You would think if it was so painful the rat would be struggling or squeaking. It takes 10 seconds for my rats, and they just fall over. I think it's much less painful than whacking its head, and hoping it works the first time.

Besides, rats have a natural painkiller built into their brains. Much like our adrenaline. It's not any more painful than the bp doing his job. I let my bp do it until they upgrade to a large small rat.

And by suffocation, you don't have to worry about getting blood anywhere. The snake gets it all.

Thanks for all the replies! It seems as I am going to have to go with the smashing technique this time till I can invest into co2. I would attempt breaking its back/neck but feel I might mess up in some way. Would sticking it in a sock and just smashing it once on my concrete deck be ok?

CO2 or carbon dioxide poisoning simply chokes the animal to death. They loose consciousness prior to death which is why many people think it is more humane. In actuality it is no more humane than leaving them in a plastic bag. The effect is the same, only quicker because CO2 is produced faster with dry ice than with chronic exhalation.

A far more humane method would be CO poisoning, or carbon monoxide. Instead of causing a choking feeling it simply robs the animal of oxygen and puts it to sleep gently. Same process as leaving your car running in the garage with the doors closed.

People often mistake the two, but yea...

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Originally Posted by ru8fru

Would sticking it in a sock and just smashing it once on my concrete deck be ok?

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I think that would be pretty quick and foolproof. A pillow case would give you more force, and less margin for error. Imagine being the mouse in that situation. You'd never even know what was going on.

Seems like the sock thing would work...I'd just be carefull about what's left you know? smash it too hard and you'll be fishing pieces of god knows what out of a sock...too soft and it might not kill it in one go.

Just some food for thought...

Btw : anyone ever wonder why it's called CO2 POISIONING? I always worried it might cause some kind of reaction in the mouse/rat's body and then you give it to your snake....I suppose they can handle it since a lot of people use that method, but again, just wondering if anyone's done any kind of through research on it????

Also, yall know how criminal profilers say cereal murderors kill small animals....does that ever bother any of yall? I kinda think about it every week around feeding time....

I'm not sure I would call it poisoning, because the Carbon Dioxide isn't killing you. The lack of Oxygen is. Carbon Monoxide, however, will pretend to be Oxygen and block the hemoglobin from binding with Oxygen. That to me sounds more like a poison, because the substance itself kills you, no matter how much Oxygen is present. There is no danger to the snake of the Carbon Dioxide. It itself is not poison. You could use Nitrogen or something to the same effect. What matters is the atmospheric partial pressure of the Carbon Dioxide within the gas chamber. There is so much in the air, it prevents any in the bloodstream from coming out. Like how 100% humidity will slow down the evaporation of a bowl of water.

We're not killing them for fun (I hope). I've seen some feedings that would make you think otherwise, though. This one guy grabs the rat with the hemostats, and gets the tail twice (it looped) and the thing freaked out! It was thrashing and flipping, slamming itself off the workbench/rack. The guy laughed at it.

If you're concerned about it, you probably don't need to be.

It's kind of pointless to argue over what is the least painful way to kill a rodent for snake consumption. I know it's all in the best interest of the rodent to not be cruel, but I don't see how it's more cruel to whack a snake in the head or suffocate it than it is to let a snake kill it live. You end up with the same result whether it dies 2 seconds or 2 minutes after you inflict your intentions of death upon it. No matter what, it will die. I know the point is to kill it quickly, but it would probably suffer more in the jaws of a hungry snake than it will if it's being suffocated by a human.

With that being said, why does no one mention a mouse trap? No one can deny that those are quick and definitely work. Just grab the rodent with the tongs, hold it under the trap and trigger it to snap it's neck. Quick and easy.

Why debate this? Well some of us feel very bad for the suffering we have to inflict upon these innocent animals. If the snake kills it, well that is as nature has deemed most fit and is not really for us to judge. The snake kills how it kills and has no choice in the matter. But if I kill it, I do have choices, and I want it to suffer as little as possible. And I think most people want the same. 2 minutes of suffering the intentions of death is a lot of suffering compared to 2 seconds. I think anyone who's been near death would testify to that.

I'm pretty sure the effectiveness and effeciency of mouse traps is debatable. Or, it's not guaranteed to snap the neck and kill, even if everything goes right. It sounds good, though. I'm just not sure on their track record, and I think it leans toward less effective than is ideal. Plus, some people just don't want to deal with something so grapic. Gas is easiest on the one doing the killing, but I think directly destroying the brain is the quickest and puts the animal through the least amount of suffering of all out options.

I think that's all there is to say about that. If you just don't care much, then gas is not too bad an option. If you want the most humane (i.e. quick and painless), I don't think that is it.

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

If you just don't care much, then gas is not too bad an option. If you want the most humane (i.e. quick and painless), I don't think that is it.

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This is a little harsh. I care a lot, and i really don't want to put the feeders through un-needed suffering. Yet, I use dry ice. It's two seconds and the rat us unconcious. A little longer, and not even a breath of air.

I don't think smashing or cervical dislocation is the best way. Especially to someone who has never done it before. As, I have tried both methods, and neither killed the rat. Not even close. Of course, i only thumped it against the table, and didn't hit it with a hammer or rock. i don't think my stomach can handle that. But, I'm not going to continue to 'practice' on the poor feeders. I'm just going to keep using dry ice. At least I know it's going to work.