The unbeatable RI.

[satomi325]

Yes you are correct as it would be the quickest way to accomplish such a gruesome act.
I could never do it though. I've personally got Into a heated fist fight with a good friend for chopping the head off a black rat in our race shop.
If you have ever seen a snake get its head chopped off, it has spasm for about 25min afterwards. It has been said that it feels the pain for those following minutes.
There are more humane ways to do it I believe. Its the same case with rodent breeders. The humane way to do it as listed in the regulations is by Co2. Breeders could save money by whacking them and throwing them in the freezer. But why not let them soundly fall asleep without the possibility of feeling any pain.
Just my .2cents

Rodents are mammals. While CO2 and cervical dislocation works for them, it doesn't for reptiles.

Co2 is not a good way to euthanize reptiles. Since they have a slow respiratory rate and metabolism, it would take a very long long time for them to die. Quite agonizing really. Some may not even die because the person doesn't leave them in the Co2 chamber long enough. It takes a mouse roughly 2 minutes to die in a Co2 chamber. I can guarantee it won't take 2 minutes for a snake to die.

Cutting off the head is inhumane too because the head is still alive and can feel pain.

Freezing is one of the most inhumane methods to euthanize a snake or any thing for the matter. Freezing is highly painful. It can take hours for a snake to freeze to death. Its said they can feel their cells freeze and burst. Putting your hand in ice water for 30 seconds hurts us already. I can't imagine doing that for hours.....

The only humane method for snakes you can do at home is instantaneous brain destruction(Crushing or destroying brain tissue ). While it is not pretty, smashing or chopping the head itself is the most effective way to euthanize a snake yourself.

If you take a snake to the vet, they will euthanize it with either an overdose of anesthesia or a cardiac puncture to the heart if a vein cannot be located in smaller animals. Don't worry about pain. The snakes are put under anesthesia during the heart puncture procedure. It's illegal to not do so.

If there was ever a situation where an animal had to be down on the spot, I wouldn't even hesitate. As a keeper, it is my responsibility to take care of my animals and make sure they're not suffering. It would be unfair to them if they couldn't live a quality life just because I wanted them to live longer. Sometimes you have to euthanize on the spot. Sometimes a suffering animal cannot wait 20+ minutes to drive to the vet to be put down. While i
It's not a great feeling or experience to euthanize animals, I would suck it up to help my animals.


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