I have a CO2 tank which will last me for years and put the rat in a plastic tub with a hole for the tube and do it that way. You will also need a regulator for the tank but once you have it you are set. The onlly thing is some snakes won't even look at prekilled which makes you feel bad when you kill a rat and no one eats him. I think Adam is right! what somone may call small and what is small my be two different things. When my rats aren't breeding enough I get some from a reptile depot and I always check the size. Last week they gave me a small that was way to big so i said give me 2 rat pups instead. I have had some scary incidents with my albinos (they show everything) and now feed smaller live items and never had a problem. Don't go by what someone else calls small, they are just trying to move inventory.