BP Euthanasia (Feeding Normal Spinoff)

[O'Mathghamhna]

I think this is where I will take it to mean that death by CO2 must be followed by a second type of euthanasia. So even if you use CO2 in a long prolonged exposure, you should still follow THAT by some other method to dispatch the snake "for sure". This could mean putting it into a freezer, but if the CO2 is not reliable enough to kill the snake, there would be a slight possibility of the snake coming to enough to be aware of freezing too?

To me, death by CO2 seems almost impossible in a home setting. Unless I suppose, you were to use a airtight container flooded with the CO2 and leave the snake in there for a extended period(hours?) and then you'd still want to do something more afterwards.

And even then, that method makes me nervous... In wildlife rehab, we sometimes have to use Isoflurane (ether), and the mammals will stop breathing but their hearts beat for several minutes after. The vet's office (when available) will do a heart stick once the animal goes to sleep, which is the method I prefer because it's a sure death and the animal is asleep. If I'm out in the field and the animal has no chance I'll just shoot it on site, which is also very quick. Do I enjoy it? Not at all. Does it need to be done? Yep.

If using just gas, be it C02 or Ether, you have to be 100% certain the animal is completely deceased, which is very hard to do with an unconscious snake. For mammals I euthanize, I check heartbeat by stethoscope several times over the course of several minutes after the first confirmed absent heartbeat. With turtles and alligators, gas is usually ineffective since they can slow their metabolism and hold their breath for prolonged periods. So I say, if you're too squeamish to be able to dispatch the animals in your care in the quickest and most humane way (pithing or head/c spine destruction), you shouldn't get into the business. It ain't for sissies. I hate killing animals but it's such a big, and important, part of wildlife rehab. It's truly the most humane solution in many situations. That's how I make peace with it.

Just my $.02