The unbeatable RI.

[Salamander Rising]

Change of subject please!!
Euthanizing your beloved pet is not something people want to see while reading about treating an RI.
Someone may read this and jump to conclusions prior to spending the money at a vet to try and treat it.

Good suggestion.

It ain't over 'til it's over and I'd personally go to great extremes before I'd ever make that call.

I spent well over $500 on a $100 normal to get it better and I'd do it again, if I had to.

[Genetics]

Change of subject please!!
Euthanizing your beloved pet is not something people want to see while reading about treating an RI.
Someone may read this and jump to conclusions prior to spending the money at a vet to try and treat it.

Well... In this thread we're discussing it about animals who have had RI for a very long time without improving. Everyone who has animals with RI should of course try the help the animal as best as possible first, long before thinking about putting the animal down. And yes, euthanizing isn't something none of us wants to read about but is in fact a very important alternative when it comes to the animals welfare - it's worse keeping an animal alive if it is in big pain, than euthanize it.

The freezer-part grosses me out. My "man" said if we should put this girl down, we should do it outside with an axe - seems like a very "nice" way to do it, quick and not much chance to do it wrong... But again, I really don't want to se my "father in law" chopping off my snakes head but it's one of the gentle way to do it...

[BleedingOrange36]

Well... In this thread we're discussing it about animals who have had RI for a very long time without improving. Everyone who has animals with RI should of course try the help the animal as best as possible first, long before thinking about putting the animal down. And yes, euthanizing isn't something none of us wants to read about but is in fact a very important alternative when it comes to the animals welfare - it's worse keeping an animal alive if it is in big pain, than euthanize it.

The freezer-part grosses me out. My "man" said if we should put this girl down, we should do it outside with an axe - seems like a very "nice" way to do it, quick and not much chance to do it wrong... But again, I really don't want to se my "father in law" chopping off my snakes head but it's one of the gentle way to do it...

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

[JulieInNJ]

Euthanizing is an unfortunate part of being a responsible owner, regardless of what the pet is. It's devastating to see a beloved pet struggling to breath. I would gladly pay a bucket of money if I knew it would get him better, but after a year of struggling, it isn't looking good.

My hope would be that someone would read this and understand that, even in the best cared for snakes, an RI can and will kill.

[Genetics]

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

When it all comes to it all.... I don't think I could just stand beside and look at it happen.... and I could never do it myself, that's for sure.

So they have said... I have no idea, roaches can be split in two and still be alive so it's hard to tell... Co2 is one of the best, but thinking about being choked 'till you faint isn't nice either... I don't think any of the "put down"-methods are a good way to die, the best is to grow old and it happen naturally...

[Salamander Rising]

Euthanizing is an unfortunate part of being a responsible owner, regardless of what the pet is. It's devastating to see a beloved pet struggling to breath. I would gladly pay a bucket of money if I knew it would get him better, but after a year of struggling, it isn't looking good.

My hope would be that someone would read this and understand that, even in the best cared for snakes, an RI can and will kill.

I spent 2 months in that terror zone and I never want to go back.

The ultimate irony is that the 'sick female' who started my troubles and whom I devoted lots of money, time and tears to was just discovered to be a boy!

[and the breeder is a hugely famous person]

I am devastated.

[Genetics]

The ultimate irony is that the 'sick female' who started my troubles and whom I devoted lots of money, time and tears to was just discovered to be a boy!

Djiis.....

I'm in the moment to believe that the long anticipated black pastel male who started all this at my place is in fact a cinnamon... At least it isn't a female who turns out to be a boy, but it still is kinda boring.....

[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.


Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[MMReptiles]

Change of subject please!!
Euthanizing your beloved pet is not something people want to see while reading about treating an RI.
Someone may read this and jump to conclusions prior to spending the money at a vet to try and treat it.

It's part of the hobby, and yes, certain animals with certain levels of RI I wouldn't bother taking to the vet and would just euthanize it myself. This is an effective thing to do- and no, not every animal should be taken to the vet instead of euthanized...

I see so many people spending thousands of dollars on dogs surgeries to save them for 1 more year, then force them on pain meds for that year, and it's a crap world for the dog, because human emotions get in the way of the dogs well being. Frankly, people that have that kind of money to throw around should put the dog down so it doesn't suffer, and then rescue another dog, or donate to a rescue with that money, the same is true with the snake...

Frankly, for me, if she still isn't showing improvement after this amount of time, I would euthanize her.

When it all comes to it all.... I don't think I could just stand beside and look at it happen.... and I could never do it myself, that's for sure.

So they have said... I have no idea, roaches can be split in two and still be alive so it's hard to tell... Co2 is one of the best, but thinking about being choked 'till you faint isn't nice either... I don't think any of the "put down"-methods are a good way to die, the best is to grow old and it happen naturally...

The best way to put down a snake is to smash/cut it's head directly. This is the only instant and pain free way of killing a snake, even a vet can cause it some pain.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Then there's the fact that so LITTLE is known of these viruses. It's unknown whether a recovered snake could harbor the virus in its body, and there are several different families of viruses causing similar symptoms out there.

Step 1) If a snake dies of an RI, get a necropsy done--by an EXPERIENCED reptile vet. Have it shipped if you have to. You want to know what caused that death, not have a guess. Some of the viral illnesses can only be diagnosed postmortem, and only by someone who knows what to look for.

Step 2) If you have a snake come down with a viral RI, inform the person you got it from, immediately. Some of these illnesses can incubate for up to 10 months, and that person may have had the animal in their own hands for less time than that--your notification could alert them to a viral RI problem and allow them to isolate any animals that may have had contact with the infected one. It will also allow them to contact anyone they've sold an animal that may have been infected to. (We know some people are not ethical enough to do this, but some are).

Step 3) Isolate sick animals, and isolate animals that may have been exposed. Clean with bleach and disinfectants made to kill things like Newcastle's Disease in poultry. The risk of chemical exposure is less than the risk from the virus--rinse well, but use the strong stuff.

Step 4) Sell nothing that may even remotely have been exposed, until your collection is virus-free for 1 year. Never sell recovered animals, and keep them isolated--it is unknown whether they may be asymptomatic carriers. There has been no verified incidence of that, but it's not worth the risk.

We see these stories coming through over and over again...quarantine new animals for 1 year, not for 3 months, not for 6 months...for the maximum recorded incubation time for these viral RIs. These diseases couldn't proliferate the way they are if people used proper quarantine procedures.