I have wrestled with this over the years. I too thought that decapitation was the quickest and least painful to the snake... although very distasteful for me...until I put a snake down this way. A full TWENTY minutes later the snakes pupils were still reacting to light. This upset me greatly, to say the least. I am assuming that with the pupils reacting to light there was still some form of brain activity.

Reptiles systems do not react at all like mammals. It takes thirty to forty minutes to knock out a 10 pound snake for surgery. It also takes over 30 minutes for the heart to stop beating when euthanizing a snake with the same stuff they use for dogs and cats (at more than 5X the dose).

I am of the belief, at this point, that refrigeration, followed by freezing, is possibly the most humane thing for a snake that must be put down. Being cold blooded the snake will not feel discomfort because its body is not trying to raise its temperature. (That is why mammals feel discomfort in the cold, their bodies are trying to maintain a certain temperature, this does not occur in reptiles.) Their bodies just slowly shut down until all functions stop.... About the same as large amounts of pentobarbital will do, without the vet bill.

This is a very difficult subject, and unfortunate reality, for all of us that love our snakes and want to do the best thing for them when we know that there is no hope or quality of life left for them. I know I don't sleep well whenever I have to make one of these tough decisions.

Kathy

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