Wacking a rodent....how exactly is this done

[Ironhead]

I may give it a shot one of these day's, but the thought of having frozen rat's in my deep freeze just dose'nt appeal to me. To bad they wont eat Venison, would have no trouble there.

[Hoomi]

The reptile shop I go to, the cost for live versus frozen is the same. The only difference is that the shop pre-whacks them and stores them in the freezer, versus leaving them in a container and having to feed them continually.

If they're out of frozen, they'll even whack a fresh one for you if you prefer not whacking it yourself. I personally prefer not taking a live one home. Dead ones don't try to chew out of the bag, and if Phil isn't interested in eating that evening, it's a simple matter to just put the rodent in a bag and stick it back in the freezer.

Opinions vary on refreezing thawed rodents. One school of thought is to not refreeze at all, while another school of thought maintains that each freezing breaks down the tissue at the cellular level a little each time, hence a rodent frozen a couple of times should be theoretically easier to digest.

On using the CO2 cartridge to euthanize the rodents, I think it would be cost effective only if used on numerous rodents at one shot, and not one at a time. CO2 cartridges aren't too expensive if bought at places like Walmart, but if you add the cost of one of those to each and every rat/mouse you feed, the cost to feed goes up dramatically. My biggest thought on those is that they're very easy to find and store, whereas dry ice may not be quite so available, and any not used will soon thaw and evaporate. Euthanizng say a dozen rats or mice at a time, feeding one and freezing the rest for later (unless you're feeding a large operation and will be feeding many rodents in one evening) should work well for most people who don't mind having some frozen rodents in the freezer.

I hadn't thought of it before, but it just occurred to me how simple it would be to connect a CO2 cartridge to a chamber. Most bicycle shops sell CO2 inflaters for pumping up bike tires after fixing an "on the road" flat. These have nozzles which will either connect to the standard Schraeder valve (just like on your car tires) or the smaller Presta valve.

A Presta valve from an old bike tube can be easily removed, and because it is threaded down its entire length, a hole can be drilled in the top of whatever you're going to use for the chamber, the valve inserted through the hole, and the normal retaining nut used to secure the valve in place. If additional sealing is desired, caulking around the valve with an adhesive would provide that. A vent hole opposite the intake valve would allow for the escape of the normal air. Since many of these inflaters include a "trigger control", the flow of CO2 could easily be regulated to start out at the lower concentration, as mentioned in the article, and then advancing to the higher concentration as needed. Gauging the amount induced by the reaction of the animal would be one way to determine the amount. If the animal starts to appear distressed, too much is being introduced at once, and the flow can be stopped.

This is a workable idea, and probably not one that would cost too terribly much to put together.

[Kara]

I understand what is said about them possibly hurting the BP, but they have no help in the wild and seem to manage to survive.

Except for the fact that in the wild, the snake is not trapped in a confined area with a potentially aggressive rodent. Each can get away from the other if absolutely necessary. Not so when introducing a live rat into the snake's enclosure. Feeding live should ALWAYS be supervised - I've seen some gruesome results of rats attacking snakes in a very short time period when not carefully watched.

Just my $.02

K

[Ironhead]

I do keep a very good eye on him while he is feeding, and he seems to be very smart as to when to strike his intended victim.

As quoted above, I do supervise the whole process. If he refuses to eat (which he has not as of yet) I will remove the rodent. It's just a choice of preference, and this is my preference.

[Kara]

Totally understandable. If you're supervising the whole process EVERY SINGLE TIME and haven't had any problems, then who's to fault you? I just didn't want you thinking it was foolproof on the grounds of "snakes in the wild have no help & manage to survive." That's apples & oranges compared to captivity.

K

[Ironhead]

Your right on the captivity part and never meant that it was a foolproof way. Just that in the wild they eat live prey and I think that live is the way for my BP. Reading all the post's on this site though is the reason that I do watch him during the entire process of his feeding and I appreciate the concern and help from all that reply to my post's.

[BallKingdom]

Be careful, it takes a fraction of a second for a rat to tear a piece outta your bp.