Feeder Euthanasia the Easy Way, and Humane too...

There's usually a lot of dry ice left over. It only takes a few minutes to euthanize the rats.

You can just leave the leftover dry ice outside, and it will magically disappear (it's just solid CO2), or you can make dry ice bombs, put it in a bucket of water and make fog, all kinds of stupid fun.

first time gasing the rats and i was wondering if in fact they do appear to suffer with you guys.. inside the gas chamber i turned on the gas and the baby rats flipped over on their backs and seemed to be gasping for air.. what was all this about? their mouths like opened all the way... very weird i thought they'd just fall asleep which is actually what the older rats seemed to do..

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Originally Posted by jwk811

first time gasing the rats and i was wondering if in fact they do appear to suffer with you guys.. inside the gas chamber i turned on the gas and the baby rats flipped over on their backs and seemed to be gasping for air.. what was all this about? their mouths like opened all the way... very weird i thought they'd just fall asleep which is actually what the older rats seemed to do..

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I know when i gas they seem to twitch and such, but i think it is alot faster than whacking them. I think one of the reasons that they probably flail more than if you use dry ice, is because gasing is a fast change of O2 to CO2 change, while dry ice is a slower change. I think the rats fall asleep more in the dry ice, than the pass out with gasing. Just what i am thinking on the topic.

~mike

I usually put a little gas in the chamber and keep it like that for a minute before I give them another blast. When they're finally unconscious, I'll open up the valve for a large blast and keep them in their until they stop moving.

CO2 in small doses will act like anesthesia, but in large percentages it can mix with the water in their lungs and form carbonic acid which is not a pleasant experience. I'm not suggesting it, but if you ever take a lung full of pure CO2 you will see how uncomfortable it is.

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Originally Posted by jwk811

first time gasing the rats and i was wondering if in fact they do appear to suffer with you guys.. inside the gas chamber i turned on the gas and the baby rats flipped over on their backs and seemed to be gasping for air.. what was all this about? their mouths like opened all the way... very weird i thought they'd just fall asleep which is actually what the older rats seemed to do..

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You increased the concentration of CO2 too rapidly. Again, without some kind of way to regulate the level of CO2 in the chamber (the use of pressurized gas increases the concentration of CO2 VERY rapidly), the rats begin to experience hypoxia before they are anesthetized, and experience respitory distress.

Case in point how using pressurized gas can make this process unreliable.

well, if you do some looking around in some aquarium forums there is a device called a bubble counter that is used in CO2 injection for planted aquariums, and there are a few sites that have plans to make them. That would give you a way to have an idea how much CO2 you're introducing. This link http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/ give the percentages of CO2 that will anestitize the mice and what levels are lethal, but you're on your own figuring out how to determine the volume you're putting in and the dilution and how much air is being forced out of the container and how that affects the concentration and all that fun stuff :P. That link also gives plans for a nice vinegar baking soda chamber that in my opinion is simpler. This post http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...7&page=5&pp=10 has some pictures of the one i made.

i see.. if i just let the co2 into the chamber out of the tank super slow then it wont hurt as bad right? then when they are unconsicous i will blast it so they can die without knowing it?

I used this method tonight and I couldn't have been more pleased with how humane it was. I am very fond of all the rats I produce but they have a purpose. It makes me feel better knowing I took care of things painlessly for them.

dry ice or bottled gas?

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Originally Posted by piranhaking

dry ice or bottled gas?

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Dry ice. I think this thread indicates why it is the right choice unless you can properly regulate CO2.