Gas chamber for rodents

So, a while back I decided to look into making a gas chamber for the rodents I would be feeding to my snakes. I have no room to keep frozen rats and feeding live, although my snakes ate no problem, could get annoying sometimes when they don't go after the rats for an extended time.

I was doing cervical dislocations and that was working alright, until the rats I started feeding were getting bigger, and harder to pin down to do the dislocation correctly. I even got bit by a rat once so that's when I decided to figure something else out. I learned about making a gas chamber. Most of the links I found were helpful but I was still lost after looking at a few of them.

So I have decided to post how I do this. I know a lot of people feed live but might not like to but don't know what else to do. The gas chamber is in my opinion the most humane way to kill the rodents, they essentially fall "asleep" within seconds.

The first thing you need is two tubs. One to put the rats in and another smaller tub to put over the rats. The smaller tub should have a hole, about the size of a quarter on top.
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The next item you need is the gas, or CO2. You can get one of these at a Sporting goods store or a paintball store.

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The next item you need is a universal fill adapter. This is basically the hose you will thread on to the CO2 cannister to administer the gas. You can find this at the paintball store or online if there is no store like that around you. The guy at the place I go to knew exactly what I needed and told me I wasn't the first person in there looking for this in order to make a gas chamber.
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The hose attaches right to the top of the cannister and has a valve to turn the gas on or off.

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So the first step is to put the rats into the larger tub and place the smaller tub right over top of them so that they can't get out.
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Take the end of the hosr and place it in the hole on the top of the smaller tub and turn the valve on. You can adjust the flow and increase or decrease as needed.
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The rats will start to lay down. Keep the gas on until they are still and then turn the gas off. You should see them stop breathing before you take the tub off of them.

I did try to take a video for this but it was harder than I thought it would be to hold a phone and the hose at the same time, but if anyone is still interested and really wants to see, I can video next feed day and upload it.

Now you have fresh, humanely killed rodents. Some snakes might not take fresh killed right away, like my older male, so it might take a few times of offering for them to take it. My younger female never had an issue switching.

DISCLAIMER: I will still perform a cervical dislocation to the rats even after I gas them. This basically ensures I won't have a zombie rat wake back up without me knowing. You can look up cervical dislocations, there are good videos on YouTube, and they are WAY easier on a rodent that is already dead.



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Nice job, very clean. Did you see the Sticky on this? I use a $6.99 cooler and a CO2 filler cap $5.99 off ebay but it all works the same. I too use a smaller box inside my cooler with a paper towel for urine as i dont like to waste gas filling a large space when im only killing 3 rodents each week.. So i use a plastic box my dishwasher tablets came in with a hole down load that lines up with the house. 10 sec and theyre out.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...s0b5t5xof.jpeg

Did not see that but that is nice! I wish I saw that when I was originally looking for info because a lot of the sites I ended up at weren't explained as well lol

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Yeah I looked at this Sticky from 2007 when I made mine. I was wasting to much gas though using the whole cooler thats why i decided on a 5"x10" tupperware container to put inside like your doing i use silicone to seal the hose to stay permanently.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Y-CO2-chamber)

Yeah I somehow never found that sticky. I use the tubs well one because I already had them also it's an easy clean up. I keep the cannister and hose in the small tub and that inside the large tub. Makes for easier storage for me.

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Good job but it is a big tank considering the size and the small amount of feeders, I would recommend a much smaller tank, otherwise not only will it take a long time to euthanize the rat but you will go through a lot of CO2, I use a 7 quarts tub it allows me to do 3 retired breeder rat at the time, 20/25 mice or rat pups in no time and with less CO2, I do have a 5 lbs CO2 cylinder with a regulating gauge as well.

I could get a smaller tub. I haven't felt like I've been having to refill co2 too often, but I'll try a smaller tub and see what happens. At most, the rats are out within ten seconds and I shut it off and do the CD.

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Originally Posted by SKO

I could get a smaller tub. I haven't felt like I've been having to refill co2 too often, but I'll try a smaller tub and see what happens. At most, the rats are out within ten seconds and I shut it off and do the CD.

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How many sessions can you use the 20oz CO2 without a refill? I have the 29oz bottle

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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

How many sessions can you use the 20oz CO2 without a refill? I have the 29oz bottle

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I haven't had to refill for I believe two months now or maybe a little over. So that's at least 8 unless they are in the middle of a shed cycle. The place I get refills from is pretty close to where I live so it's not a real hassle to get it.

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my first thought was you Nazi lol but that's just my dark humor lol but have you considered a giant cooler? or maybe even a deep freezer? Or mini fridge/wine fridge? I'm thinking anything that's already air tight and takes little to nothing to setup

retro gaming pokemon for gbc/gba p.s. I've never played go nor shall i !!!!!

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Originally Posted by Ballpythonguy92

my first thought was you Nazi lol but that's just my dark humor lol but have you considered a giant cooler? or maybe even a deep freezer? Or mini fridge/wine fridge? I'm thinking anything that's already air tight and takes little to nothing to setup

retro gaming pokemon for gbc/gba p.s. I've never played go nor shall i !!!!!

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Lol I have considered most options but I love in a house (rent) that is a three family unit and space is limited. Once we buy a house, I would consider getting a freezer and stockpiling frozen yum yums for the snakes lol.

You lost me with pokemon reference lol

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Just wondering, but why do you gas the rats? Can't you just freeze them directly? I know it's likely more humane, but is that the only reason?

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Originally Posted by FlynnTheBP

Just wondering, but why do you gas the rats? Can't you just freeze them directly? I know it's likely more humane, but is that the only reason?

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I gas them as a way to kill them right before I put them in the snake's enclosures on feed day. I'm not doing it for storage purposes.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlynnTheBP

Just wondering, but why do you gas the rats? Can't you just freeze them directly? I know it's likely more humane, but is that the only reason?

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They get gassed first because it humane or cervical dislocation is another humane way. May not be the cheapest but it's the most humane ways. Of course you could just throw them in a circle and smack their head on a table or whatnot but if you don't do it just right it then becomes inhumane plus you could have a bloody mess.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlynnTheBP

Just wondering, but why do you gas the rats? Can't you just freeze them directly? I know it's likely more humane, but is that the only reason?

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I do it this way because like I mentioned earlier performing a cervical dislocation can be trickier on larger rats and I got bit. I can also just drop the dead rats in the cage without worrying about a rat biting my snakes. Also, dead rats are a lot easier to retrieve out of a cage if they don't get eaten.

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thanks for posting this. in fish keeping, we talk about gut loading feeder fish by feeding them extra rich foods just prior to feeding them to larger fish to improve nutritional value. I know this is a bit off topic, but does anyone know if gut loading is a thing that can be done with rodents to improve snake health? if so, what sorts of things can be fed to rodents before they are "offed" and either frozen or fed to a BP?

Can anyone provide more specifics on the hose/valve used to attach to this tank?


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Originally Posted by BPGator

Can anyone provide more specifics on the hose/valve used to attach to this tank?


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Sorry, should have elaborated on that. Do a Google search for "coiled remote with quick disconnect". There are a bunch all in different price ranges. I believe mine in store was around twenty bucks and it works fine. Hope that helps

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SKO

Lol I have considered most options but I love in a house (rent) that is a three family unit and space is limited. Once we buy a house, I would consider getting a freezer and stockpiling frozen yum yums for the snakes lol.

You lost me with pokemon reference lol

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LMBO : thats his signiture. It says something about Pokemon hahhahha
Also you cant freeze to many Rats to stockpile.. They get freezer burned and they refuse them..

FYI, I've read several news articles where pet stores were killing their rats by banging them on hard surfaces or freezing them alive. Authorities raided the place and confiscated all of their snakes and refused to give them back or give them compensation. The only 'legal' way to euthanize a rat, at least that I know of, is using CO2.

I've actually just upgraded my system, I purchased a couple CO2 bottles on Craig's List. Apparently these are used for pop machines and grow operations. I bought two tanks for $125. Then I bought a regulator, both tanks came full of CO2 and were filled to 800 PSI. I bleed off the CO2 from the tank at a pressure of just under 5 PSI. So far I've been gassing using the same tank for a couple months (multiple times every five days for 20 seconds per event) and the 800 PSI is still showing, I'm guessing I could probably go a whole year or more on one tank. And the guy that sold them to me said he fills them at a grow shop for $8. I think this is the most economical in the long run.

To connect to my 'gas chamber' I use a flexible braided hose connected to a tire valve stem. I removed the core of the valve stem and simply plug the hose right on. I add rodents, cover the chamber with a towel, keep the tank in the basement by the door but put the chamber outside with the sliding door mostly closed, then gas for 20 seconds. I try to keep all of the gas outside of the house. Then I bring the chamber inside, close the door, and put it on a chair for two minutes. I'm finding that if I gas a lot of rodents they start to cool off before I feed them all, so I pop them in an incubator at 110F and pull them out one by one. I also put a paper towel in the chamber because they almost always pee. I really like the little on / off valve that comes with my regulator. That's what I use to turn the gas on and off. If I get an abundance of rats that are just the right size to feed I'll gas them and freeze them. I found that freezing them on a platter in a zip lock bag overnight and then vacuum sealing them the following day works the best. And they all come apart easy when I break the seal on the vacuum sealed bag (don't vacuum seal unless they are frozen!)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...-chamber-1.JPG

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...-chamber-2.JPG

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...-chamber-3.JPG

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

FYI, I've read several news articles where pet stores were killing their rats by banging them on hard surfaces or freezing them alive. Authorities raided the place and confiscated all of their snakes and refused to give them back or give them compensation. The only 'legal' way to euthanize a rat, at least that I know of, is using CO2.

I've actually just upgraded my system, I purchased a couple CO2 bottles on Craig's List. Apparently these are used for pop machines and grow operations. I bought two tanks for $125. Then I bought a regulator, both tanks came full of CO2 and were filled to 800 PSI. I bleed off the CO2 from the tank at a pressure of just under 5 PSI. So far I've been gassing using the same tank for a couple months (multiple times every five days for 20 seconds per event) and the 800 PSI is still showing, I'm guessing I could probably go a whole year or more on one tank. And the guy that sold them to me said he fills them at a grow shop for $8. I think this is the most economical in the long run.

To connect to my 'gas chamber' I use a flexible braided hose connected to a tire valve stem. I removed the core of the valve stem and simply plug the hose right on. I add rodents, cover the chamber with a towel, keep the tank in the basement by the door but put the chamber outside with the sliding door mostly closed, then gas for 20 seconds. I try to keep all of the gas outside of the house. Then I bring the chamber inside, close the door, and put it on a chair for two minutes. I'm finding that if I gas a lot of rodents they start to cool off before I feed them all, so I pop them in an incubator at 110F and pull them out one by one. I also put a paper towel in the chamber because they almost always pee. I really like the little on / off valve that comes with my regulator. That's what I use to turn the gas on and off. If I get an abundance of rats that are just the right size to feed I'll gas them and freeze them. I found that freezing them on a platter in a zip lock bag overnight and then vacuum sealing them the following day works the best. And they all come apart easy when I break the seal on the vacuum sealed bag (don't vacuum seal unless they are frozen!)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...-chamber-1.JPG

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...-chamber-2.JPG

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...-chamber-3.JPG

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Definitely more economical in the long run - I know you breed your own rodents and have a lot of snakes.

I'm your setup, is there a pressure relief somewhere in the plastic container?


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