When concentrated carbon dioxide gas contacts the moisture on the surface of the lung tissue, it is converted to carbonic acid. This is a mild acid but the burning feeling is fairly strong, and I have experienced this several times. I have been working with dry ice for decades and have been around it numerous times in ton quantities in large storage boxes. When you accidentally inhale slightly while leaning into one of these containers, you get the experience first hand. When euthanizing mammals with CO2, the complete replacement of the container interior with CO2 gas renders the mammal unconscious within seconds and the lung irritation is extremely short lived. This is obviously due to the high metabolic rate of mammals.

When using CO2 with an ectotherm, this lung irritation is going to be over an extended period of time and probably more severe, as unconsciousness will take much longer to achieve with their very much slower metabolism.

I am in no way advocating the use of freezing, but in reality, if you did use this method, the animal should be placed in a insulated styrofoam box so the cooling effect would occur over an extended period, and the snake would be completely unconscious before the tissue began to freeze. The rapid freezing, non-insulated method would be the worst way of all, as the effect of the cold on the tissue and brain of the snake would be the most traumatic. The best way, especially for larger snakes, would be euthanasia by a vet.

Kelly

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