Put it down already

[Chocolate1]

Having worked next to a couple vets, and talked to several vets and several vet techs.. the whole "drug euthanisia" for reptiles SUCKS. The animal takes forever to actually die. I've been told of firsthand accounts of tortoises and boas and pythons all taking long long hours to die, and since the heart just refused to stop beating, they eventually PUT IT IN THE FREEZER.

If a vet who is supposed to know how to do it best, tells me he/she puts the animal in the freezer becuase it's quicker and more humane, and like Wes said, the animals do not move around trying to escape, then I'll go with that idea.

Just because you spend more money to kill the animal doesn't mean that it's less painful. If you REALLY wanted to make a instantaneous death, you would brain the animal with a small(or large) sledgehammer, to cause instant brain disfunction. Brutal? Yes. But it's definitely the fastest death, and thus by timing, the least painful.

We can't tell really when a reptile is still feeling pain, or uncomfortable, or has a headache. (I also don't think saying the snake has a headache is anthromorpizing it, it's saying the snake had pain in it's head, not that it's sad). Reptiles don't show us much.

And as far as the "I heard.." unless the person told you "I do XXX" please discount it as typical rumor-mongering.

Every person who breeds snakes has to make their own decisions. Unless you personally have had a deformed baby hatch, then you'll have a very hard time saying what you yourself will or will not do. I used to say "I'd give it every chance", but when you look at a deformed baby who obviously will never be 'right', you have to make the decision right then about what you see in front of you, not as a theory.

I think we should keep in mind that it is not just the TIME it takes for a reptile to die, but the sensory experience as well. While a euthanasia performed by a veterinarian may take longer, the drugs used do not create pain in the animal; indeed, the do the opposite, they are powerful analgesics. So, if a veterinarian gives a lethal injection of a drug with the intent of euthanasia, analgesia will take place before death. This means that the animal will not experience pain, but will slowly lose consciousness, followed by the cessation of heart function and brain function. The route of the injection will determine how long this process takes. If it is directly in the blood stream it is quicker than if it is in the body cavity or liver, for example.

Freezing may be quicker in some cases, but there is no analgesia involved. The types of tissues most affected by cooler temperature are the cells involved in muscle function, not nervous function. So while the reptile may not be able to move, there is still neurological function, and having your tissues freeze is certainly painful. Even at very low temperatures reptile species retain consciousness. Indeed, there have been many scientific studies conducted on pain and function at low temperatures.

Again, I emphasize that there have been scientific studies conducted on reptile pain. And yes, “we” do know things about what reptiles feel and whether it is painful. Many people do research on this kind of stuff for a living.