Put it down already

[accidental777]

Hmm....they use hydroflourocarbons in cool whip cans now (and in cooking spray). Anyways....is there anyway to somewhat dull the pain of freezing ball python without a vet issues anesthetic? I know that fish keepers will sometimes use clove oil to tranquilize a large fish or to humanely euthanize them.

[Serpent_Nirvana]

I was also thinking, on this freeze debate, would people rather to simply chop off their heads or break their necks? That's quick and painless......and it's exactly how you off a chicken. I don't see why snakes would have any higher status that would require a vet, it's just the humane factor.

It is recommended to do this anyway, regardless of the method of euthanasia, to make sure the animal is really dead ...

[Oroborous]

I haven't read all the way through this thread, but I've seen enough...I thought this was a rather straight forward question. My opinion is simple, if the animal manages to eat, drink, poo, and move to thermoregulate, then it should be allowed to survive. A lot of animals can live with slight deformities without being in constant discomfort. Someone was saying if they should put a ball python down for missing an eye, or for having a skin blemish, to me this wouldn't even be a quetion. Some breeders or collectors may not want to buy a snake like that, but I would, I think it gives the animal some character...
It is sad when people start caring more about the money they make than the snakes they produce....

[SlitherinSisters]

It is recommended to do this anyway, regardless of the method of euthanasia, to make sure the animal is really dead ...

Oh wow, I didn't know that. I assume you do this after you freeze it so technically it's not dying from the head being removed.

[berliner11]

i agree 100%

[Serpent_Nirvana]

Oh wow, I didn't know that. I assume you do this after you freeze it so technically it's not dying from the head being removed.

I know this is a two year old thread, but this is important enough to justify clarifying ...

You are correct -- please, no one use decapitation as a method of reptile euthanasia. Reptiles may well maintain consciousness for quite awhile after being decapitated, so this is NOT a humane method!

[mr.spooky]

I know this is a two year old thread, but this is important enough to justify clarifying ...

You are correct -- please, no one use decapitation as a method of reptile euthanasia. Reptiles may well maintain consciousness for quite awhile after being decapitated, so this is NOT a humane method!

lol,, where did you get this info? is it from a scientific study,, or is it just out of your mind? do you have any references ?
spooky

[mr.spooky]

I know this is a two year old thread, but this is important enough to justify clarifying ...

You are correct -- please, no one use decapitation as a method of reptile euthanasia. Reptiles may well maintain consciousness for quite awhile after being decapitated, so this is NOT a humane method!

Decapitation is an easy way to kill a reptile in that no special equipment or drugs are necessary. Nevertheless, the brain of a decapitated reptile may remain active for up to an hour, so decapitation by itself is inhumane. It may be used if the brain is pithed, or destroyed by the insertion of a probe, immediately afterwards. Some of you may have pithed leopard frogs in high school biology prior to their dissection.
taken from here : http://www.anapsid.org/euth.html
spooky