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Euthanizing a boa

Sirrus Aug 12, 2003 12:06 AM

This is a difficult question to ask but what is the humane way to kill a snake. A boa of mine has been a problem from the beginning. He refuses to feed and is always sick as a result. He has lost a great deal of weight. When I took him to the vet I was told he was ok he just wasn't a big feeder.
He has cost me more money than he is worth and ut would be unethical for me to sell him and burder someone else with him. He is sick now and I'm not going to take him to the vet only to be charged and told he is ok after he stays at the vet's for a week.
I do not want the animal to suffer.
WHat should I do any advice is appreciated.

Replies (33)

junglehabitats Aug 12, 2003 12:23 AM

This is a difficult question to ask but what is the humane way to kill a snake. A boa of mine has been a problem from the beginning. He refuses to feed and is always sick as a result. He has lost a great deal of weight. When I took him to the vet I was told he was ok he just wasn't a big feeder.
He has cost me more money than he is worth and ut would be unethical for me to sell him and burder someone else with him. He is sick now and I'm not going to take him to the vet only to be charged and told he is ok after he stays at the vet's for a week.
I do not want the animal to suffer.
WHat should I do any advice is appreciated.

If i were you i would look at finding a rescue to possibly take it in ... while i want sit here and tell you that you are wrong for your actions as i am not in your shoes, i will say that w/o knowing all the details of its time and howlong it hasent been feeding age ,etc the basic facts i cannot think of anyway other then "gasing it" to put it down in a humane manner . Now it could be possible that a vet could utanize it for you .. now as to them charging you im nopt sure but if you dont want the animal to suffer that would be the best route to take IMO good luck onm the choice you make you know what it has put you through
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....

Gargoyle420 Aug 12, 2003 01:12 AM

I had a male guyana yearling that i spent over 1000 dollars in vet bills on.It would regurge everything included water.I spent 6 months trying to help it get thru it's crisis.If i had it all over to do again i would have put it down myself then let it die a slow horrible death.I'ts just my opinion and the choice is yours.Most vet's know very little about reptiles.If you have a herp club in your area maybe someone with more patience and knowledge can help pull it thru.It's just another option for you.good luck....Paul.

Jonathan_Brady Aug 12, 2003 05:57 AM


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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

Classic_dums Aug 12, 2003 07:25 AM

I must say your post confuses me. I don't know if you want to help the animal or your wallet. But given the fact it's hard to tell when it's the written word, here's my advice. What are the boas cage conditions? Could it be enviromental? Was the vet quailfied to examine herps? I think before you put the animal down, find someone (vet or not) with loads of experience. Or try to find a home with someone who will take a rescue. And don't sell it, give it to them. I have a sulcatta that was given to me, and I spent 3,000 on vet bills to save his life. And it was worth every penny. People all around me were telling me to put him down, but right now he's in the backyard munching on grass living a happy life, not suffering. I have several snakes in my basement that by all rights should have been dead because of the condition they were in when they came here, but I didn't give up. So keep your chin up, forget about how much he's worth and find out for sure what needs to be done.

Danni
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Jason & Danni
Our Email
Our Website

SMILE SMILE

AbsoluteApril Aug 12, 2003 11:22 AM

I've been in a situation where I had to put down an adult snake
and I did some research..
the most humane thing you can do is take the snake to the
vets and have them euthanize it. You may be able to work
it out with them where they will do it for free or for
little cost, but that is the quickest and most humane
thing to do.
The 2nd 'humane' way (and by that I mean quickest and least
painful to the snake) is blunt force head trama. This is
a messy way to go, but it is very quick.. ( please make sure
you get help if you *have* to do this, you must crush the
entire head of the snake on the first blow, you must use
something heavy and large enough that will work or you will
just cause agonizing pain)
Ways I have heard that are not very humane:
cutting off the snake's head (they can survive with a
severed head for up to an hour, eye movement and tounge
flicking were seen 40 min after decapitation with a boa
(according to my research)
Freezing, this is very painful and slow way to die...
some people place the snake in the refrigerator first and
then the freezer, but IMO this is more an "out of sight, out
of mind" way to kill and as stated, is a very slow way to die.
Here is one of the websites where I got my info:
http://www.anapsid.org/euth.html
http://www.anapsid.org/decap.html

Of course as others have stated, if you can find someone
who is willing to work with the snake, all the better,
but I also don't believe you should get attacked for it and
sometimes euthanization is needed (each case is different) it
is up to you to decide what is best.
IMO if you do decide to go thru with it, please take
the snake to the vets to be put down.
-April

larryskeepers Aug 12, 2003 01:22 PM

I think the best thing to do would be to give the snake to a rescue or someone here who has experiance dealing with stuborn snakes. Now as much as i would love to say send him to me and ill find him a good home I know that i would not be able to give him the care he needs and in all rights deserves. But if you need someone to euthanize him for you please in all mean send him to me and i will take him into a vet and put him down, no matter what the cost i would rather see a snake die "peacefully" then have you and a hammer in the back yard hoping you've crush this poor guys skull.. So if that is the option you would like to take please contact me and ill pay to have him shipped here and ill take him to my vet and get another opinion on his life..Its atleast another option for you to think about.. Steve and I have already lived through a rescue which could have been saved but the man decided it would be better to beat the snake to death with a hammer in his backyard moments after i had called to make arrangments to pick up the snake. I just dont want that to happen to your little guy...So please atleast consider it as an option... Please contact Steve or myself at srsnakes@yahoo.com.. Atleast it wouldnt cost you anything...

Sincerely,
Rose & Steve
srsnakes

grimdog Aug 12, 2003 01:42 PM

not attacking the original poster. he should bring the thing to the vet, give it to an adoption agency, or give it to a knowledgable person. What I want to know why on earth would anyone ever say to bash a snake over the head with a hammer or anything. That is horrible. If you need a snake euthanized bring it to the vet and pay the bill if you can't afford such a bill don't own a snake. that simple. vet bills are par for the course of owning ANY animal. To say bashing a snake over the head is humane is just stupid. I bet such practices rarely work the first time. it is as stupid as the people that recomend bashing mice/rats. Just plain and simply inexcusable. Just my opinion but i think to even suggest it is unforgivable.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

AbsoluteApril Aug 12, 2003 02:52 PM

all I was doing was relating information I found when
I did research about euthanizing a snake... the info
is on that link I posted.
I was not saying that is what he should do.. I specificially
stated in my post the two best things I thought:
1. Give the snake to someone who will take it and rehab it
2. Take it to the vet to be euthanized.
I do not know how much clearer I need to be.

grimdog Aug 12, 2003 03:14 PM

But you are talking about someone that seems more concerned with money than the animals health. I don't care what melissa kaplan's site says. Sure there are plent of things on her site that are dumb. Non iguanna people bash her all the time. She think merc vapor bulbs are bad. Obviously in my opinion not the best source for information. I can see this guy, or someone else, trying to bash the boa over the head and breaking its neck or crushing the front/side of the snakes head and not mashing the brain. Very disturbing. The fact that such a proccess is listed on anyones site is scary to be quite honest. To spread such, imho, stupid ideas is stupid. Sorry just the way I feel. Thing should be brought to a vet to be euthanized there are vet available everywhere, maybe not cheap but something to be thought of before hand. Actually it should be giving to a responsible herper or rescue to care for it. Just my opinion.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

grimdog Aug 12, 2003 05:24 PM

You will see it stated the following way

"Euthanasia can be done by destroying the brain with a sharp blow to the head, on the middle and just posterior to the eyes. This can be done in an emergency, as when an animal is found hit by a car, grievously injured but not yet dead and no other method is available."

Yes for a wild animal that can't be transported it is the most humane way. For an animal that can easily be brought to a vet it is a STUPID way. Also consider the following statement:

"This is among the most common methods of euthanizing feeder rodents."

That is against what all vets believe. Or at least the ones that come up with guidelines for euthanasia. There are a few accepted ways cervical dislocation, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, overdose of barbitutes to name a few. Crushing the skull and blunt tramas are against what they believe. So this guy I don't think is to reliable.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

AbsoluteApril Aug 13, 2003 10:52 AM

my post and the reply I gave you and please read my
reply to just_durms you will see I was not ADVOCATION
blunt force head trama!! How many times do I have to
say IMO IT WOULD BE BEST TO TAKE IT TO THE VET TO BE
EUTHANIZED
sheesh!
-'stupid' april

thecaiman Aug 14, 2003 09:06 AM

", I quickly took it out of the tank and
crushed it's entire skull, it was dead in 2 seconds." Nope doesnt sound like advocation to me. Come on give me a break. April use some common sense, if you still think MK's pages having anything of value in them then you havnt learned very much in the time you have been in this hobby. I have read your posts and replies and the simple fact that you could state bashing an animals head in is an option is just wrong.
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Jason & Danica
Heads I win tails you lose. Get out of my way I am coming through. Roll the dice and dont think twice when we crush....crush....crush em...crush em! Megadeth
Classic Dums

Rick Staub Aug 12, 2003 06:01 PM

I have to disagree with another part of this advice. In the past when I had an animal that was beyond hope, my vet has told me to just put it in the freezer. He said that this was very humane as the reptile becomes lethargic as the temp decreases and then becomes comatose. Why would you consider this painful and inhumane? The part about cutting off their head makes me think that this whole section was written without knowing all the facts and probably annecdotally based on personal observations that do not reflect what is really happening. For example, anyone who has observed rodents being killed using carbon dioxide would swear that they are in extreme agony as they lurch, gasp for air, and hop about. The opposite is in fact true though, as carbon dioxide basically knocks them out almost immediately and what you abserve is an involuntary response. I would imagine the same is true if you were to severe their neck.

I have found snakes in the wild when the air temp was at or below 40 degrees. These snakes were so out of it they could not right themselves when you turned them on their backs. They could not possibly feel pain. They couldn't even tell which way was up.
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Rick Staub
R&R Reptiles

MaxPeterson Aug 13, 2003 11:43 AM

I have to agree on the freezing part - I really haven't seen that the animal suffers at all - even humans who have come close to freezing to death, say that it was a "pleasant" way to go.

On the other hand - try tossing a chunk of dry ice into a bucket of water & then try breathing the carbon dioxide that results -
IT HURTS LIKE A [bleep]!!!

Nature is violent - Too many of these people shouldn't have animals, if they can't deal with death & dying.

Rick Staub Aug 13, 2003 01:10 PM

>>On the other hand - try tossing a chunk of dry ice into a bucket of water & then try breathing the carbon dioxide that results -
>>IT HURTS LIKE A [bleep]!!!

I put my head a little too far into the dry ice cooler here at work one day and got a huge breath of it. I don't remember it being particularly painful but I damm near passed out on the spot. I would guess that a partial dose is more painful because you remain conscious. Same thing would apply if you are using dry ice/carbon dioxide to kill rodents. If you let the carbon dioxide gas build up sufficiently, the rodent is done for by the second breath.
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Rick Staub
R&R Reptiles

MaxPeterson Aug 13, 2003 11:36 PM

What if I'm selling, or talking about a female dog in the dog forums do they bleep the word,"B!tch" there?

How's it going Rick? Been a while...

I couldn't even get a full breath of the CO2 when I tried it that way. My initial thought was to try & inhale it & see if I could exhale it like smoke.
Felt like someone had punched me in the lungs from the inside.

The quickest way I've found to do mass quantities of rodents (veering off subject)is to put them in a five gallon bucket & then put another down inside it. They smother quite quickly.

Freezing still seems a good method for euthanizing a snake or other reptile.

Cheers, Max

Classic_Dums Aug 13, 2003 07:59 AM

Sorry, IMO to crush a snakes head or cut if off to save a few bucks is totally wrong. Out in the wild where the animal is in severe pain, etc is one thing, but to just bash its head in, I don't think so. Most people already think we are crazy for killing cute mice and bunnies to feed to our snakes (no matter which way you dispose of them) and for someone to read this, wow. And April, I don't know about you, but I don't post anything I don't or wouldn't consider doing myself, and I would never post anything like this. Most vets should work out a payment plan with something like this. If not they need to go back to school for compassion for animals. Anyway, I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that, and I wouldn't suggest anyone do this to save a few bucks. I don't think anyone was attacking this guy for putting a snake down, his post read like he is more worried about his wallet is what ruffled feathers. It ruffled mine. If you can't afford the animals, don't keep them. Vet bills are part of having an animal of any kind.
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Jason & Danni
Our Email
Our Website

SMILE SMILE

AbsoluteApril Aug 13, 2003 10:48 AM

>And April, I don't know about you, but I don't post anything I don't or wouldn't consider doing myself

Everyone is getting all upset about the 'crushing head'...
um, well I whack my rats, that is blunt force head trama,
when my b/f's fish was slowly dying that he had owned for 6 years
he did not have the heart to put her down himself, he was
going to put her in the freezer which would have been a slow
way for the fish to die, I quickly took it out of the tank and
crushed it's entire skull, it was dead in 2 seconds. How
is any of that any different? The whole point is to cause
the least amount of pain and trama to the animal that needs
to be put down and if people would read my entire post instead
of focusing on that one point they would realize I was NOT
saying this is what the person should do. I WAS POINTING OUT
THE BAD ASPECTS OF THE OTHER WAYS OF PUTTING DOWN AN ANIMAL
TRYING TO SHOW THAT TAKING IT TO THE VET WAS THE BEST THING TO
DO. (I went into detail about the crushing because I could see
someone thinking they should do it and using a hammer or something
small that would not get the job done and would cause
unneccessary pain and suffering to the animal)
I guess everyone took it the wrong way.
Personally when I die, I would like to go in my sleep but if
I can't, I'd rather die in a horrible accident where I was
crushed instantly instead of say.. drowning or choking to death.
quick and painless

grimdog Aug 13, 2003 01:07 PM

Yeah but most places that you read about euthanizing feeder foods, almost NO where is blunt force trauma recomended. Learn to do cervical dislocation. Blunt trauma is never a garantee. Maybe you have luck with it. Too many stories of oh I wacked the rat thought it was dead snake didn't eat and the rat was later found alive. Sometimes found alive after injuring the animal. Blunt force trauma, besides for wild animals that can't be transported and are suffering already, is NOT a humane way to die. My opinion, but also an opinion shared by MANY vets that write the rules for euthanizing animals. I have some experience with this from doing animal research. If you even joked about whacking a rat in a hospital you could be shut down.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

grimdog Aug 13, 2003 01:13 PM

My opinion is you did say that it should be brought to the vet. But you also put forth blunt force trauma as a "humane" way to euthanize animals. Cited a source, but used it out of context of the way he said it was acceptable. Again the source you cited was some sort of yahoo in my opinion. Any vet that condones "whacking" of feeder rodents is a yahoo. It isn't the best way to do it. That is all my point was. And you mention this to a guy that seemingly has money in his best interest, over the health of the animal. If that statement was used in a different context I wouldn't be as upset. If you would have said that it was ok to use blunt force trauma to euthanize a rabbit hit by a car that was still alive but you were unable to bring to a vet. Ok that is fine. To say it to someone that wants to euthanize a boa, STUPID!!! Guess you don't share the same opinion as me, guess that is life though.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

Rick Staub Aug 13, 2003 02:59 PM

I have used this method as it is one of the acceptable methods for euthanizing rodents at a public institution. However, I would also say that it has an equal if not greater risk of failing and causing undue pain to the rodent, especially for rats or other larger rodents, than does blunt force trauma. Both cervical dislocation and blunt force trauma require a certain amount of resolve by the person applying the force as it is your action that is delivering the death blow. So both of these methods are not for the squeamish. If you are tentative there is a much greater risk of screwing it up. Even when you have performed either method many times, there is always a few times when the death is not quick as the rodent squirms or does something unexpected at a critical moment. IMO this occurs more often with cervical dislocation than it does with blunt force trauma with rodents, therefore I would never recommend cervical dislocation as a means to euthanize rodents. A couple possible reasons blunt force trauma is not allowed at most public institutions is that has the appearance of being much more violent with the swinging of the rodent by its tail or being thrown whole body into a barrier. Also, blunt force trauma usually causes a lot of bleeding from the nose of the rodent so it is relatively messy. So the fact that it is not used or recommended by many institutions may have nothing to do with how humane it is as a method of euthanizing. IMO

>>Yeah but most places that you read about euthanizing feeder foods, almost NO where is blunt force trauma recomended. Learn to do cervical dislocation. Blunt trauma is never a garantee. Maybe you have luck with it. Too many stories of oh I wacked the rat thought it was dead snake didn't eat and the rat was later found alive. Sometimes found alive after injuring the animal. Blunt force trauma, besides for wild animals that can't be transported and are suffering already, is NOT a humane way to die. My opinion, but also an opinion shared by MANY vets that write the rules for euthanizing animals. I have some experience with this from doing animal research. If you even joked about whacking a rat in a hospital you could be shut down.
>>-----
>>Derek Affonce
>>DeKeAff Exotics
>>dekeaffexotics.com
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Rick Staub
R&R Reptiles

AbsoluteApril Aug 13, 2003 06:39 PM

I agree, the two times I tried cervical dislocation with an
adult rat all I did was hurt the rat (they did not die,
just had their necks or spines broken) Perhaps I was
not strong enough, I was shown how to do it and followed the
directions. I have had much better luck with 'whacking' although
I normally do not recommend that, I have never had a rat
survive being whacked. (I am strong enough to do that apparently)
Of course, co2 is always recommended as the 'best' way to do it.
I just buy from a local breeder who kills them for me now..

woodchip Aug 13, 2003 10:09 PM

Interesting comments here. Don't try having a discussion like this over at Bob Clarks forums...I got banned for satirically suggesting one should sew the rats lips togeather or buy one of my designer hypo-allergenic, fully digestable rat hoods (keeps the rat from bitting your boa). Go figure

grimdog Aug 14, 2003 10:18 AM

Yeah cervical dislocation is only good for rats up to 200 grams. Seriously after I did it 3-4 times have never had an issue with it. Put the thing down hold its tail place forceps on it neck pull done. never missed never not hard enough. but over 200 grams I guess it becomes messy, I don't feeding fresh killed besides to 2 animals they are both balls so under 200 grams is all i do.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

thecaiman Aug 14, 2003 08:47 AM

sense April. I am amazed that a reptile hobbyist would post something that stupid in a public forum. I can only wonder how many humaniacs have copied that and will use the stupidity of that post to encourage herp laws. Did you stop to think how barbaric that post makes everyone one of us look? I can just see HSUS members standing in a room full of gov officials waving around copies of your post yelling “this how these exotic owners treat their animals when they get sick, they bash their heads in with rocks and encourage other to do the same.” Then on page two they have the stupidity of how you killed your b/f fish as proof to the barbaric method being used. Its sad when some among us have such a total lack of common sense. On top of which you put down totally humane methods within your post, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong or inhumane with freezing a reptile. In case you were unaware I will update you a little bit. Many species of reptiles hibernate, ya know go into a nice little sleep over the winter, why you ask? Because temperatures get cold enough that’s it slows the metabolism of the animal down to a point where they sleep/hibernate, till the temps start rising again with it the animals body temp, metabolism and the animal awakens. Now whats is so inhumane about taking it a step further? Wasn’t it you who said you want to die in your sleep? So if its ok for you why is it so inhumane to take the reptile a step further and never have it wake up from its hibernated sleep. Because yes April boas, pythons and all the like will hibernate at some point when the temps are cold enough. Boas coming from a warmer region simply hibernate at higher temps then do colubrids. Please use some common sense April.
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Jason & Danica
Heads I win tails you lose. Get out of my way I am coming through. Roll the dice and dont think twice when we crush....crush....crush em...crush em! Megadeth
Classic Dums

thecaiman Aug 14, 2003 08:54 AM

I wanted to clarify something from my last post, boas and pythons etc, any species that does not naturally hibernate will have serious problems if you atempt to hibernate them. So please anyone reading this dont try to hibernate your columbians, carpet pythons etc with you king snakes. All I am simply stating is once a reptile gets cold enough the drop in temps slows their metabolism to a point they sleep.
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Jason & Danica
Heads I win tails you lose. Get out of my way I am coming through. Roll the dice and dont think twice when we crush....crush....crush em...crush em! Megadeth
Classic Dums

grimdog Aug 14, 2003 11:59 AM

This is also a reason not to recomend "whacking" rats. The idea to me at least is revolting. Throwing a rat against a wall? Or swinging it by the tail into a hard surface? OMG come on people how violent is that. How sick would most people think you are if you explained this to them. Number one way if you will be euthanizing a large number is a co2 compartment, number 2 for animals under 200 g is cervical dislocation. When done by someone with some experience you can "pop" a mouse or rat almost immediately after it touches the ground. It has no clue. And I still find it hard to believe that "blunt force trauma" doesn't often fail. Think alot of the times it does fail the snake makes sure it doesn't matter, because it constricts the animal. I have heard of and seen rats that seem dead (no visible breathing) be found 10 minutes later alive and doing well (well besides the horrible pain in must have or is experiencing). From that point on I have only used cervical dislocation.
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Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

MaxPeterson Aug 14, 2003 03:19 PM

Your signature at the end of your post sends a great message too.

On another side of this whole "humane" thing - I've got a well meaning friend whose husband injured a rat while trying to trap it. Instead of quickly putting the poor thing out of its misery,
she spent time on the phone, time driving, & time $$$ at the vet waiting for it to be examined, undergoing an examination, & finally giving it an injection to euthanize it.
What would have been more humane & less painful?

MaxPeterson Aug 14, 2003 04:38 PM

show restraint, & tact,& not give the animal rights people more ammunition.

thecaiman Aug 14, 2003 08:58 PM

"Your signature at the end of your post sends a great message too." Ya and whats that? that some moron who has not the slightest idea of what the song is about is going to twist it out of context? who cares, FYI the song is about sports

>>
>>On another side of this whole "humane" thing - I've got a well meaning friend whose husband injured a rat while trying to trap it. Instead of quickly putting the poor thing out of its misery,
>>she spent time on the phone, time driving, & time $$$ at the vet waiting for it to be examined, undergoing an examination, & finally giving it an injection to euthanize it.
>>What would have been more humane & less painful?

bla bla bla and your taking shots at my IQ when you cant even follow the conversation. it was about bashing a snakes head not wild rats, who cares about a wild rat
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Jason & Danica
Heads I win tails you lose. Get out of my way I am coming through. Roll the dice and dont think twice when we crush....crush....crush em...crush em! Megadeth
Classic Dums

MaxPeterson Aug 15, 2003 02:32 AM

I was having a bit of fun & would push it futher, but really don't want to start something.
Don't make it so easy. Relax. We're both on the same side (I think).
Cheers, Max

SynSizer Aug 13, 2003 01:00 PM

1. This is a difficult question to ask but what is the humane way to kill a snake. A boa of mine has been a problem from the beginning.

He has had problems? Or he has “been a problem to you”? I don’t mean to sound harsh, but there is quite a different mindset between those two phrases. If you are looking at him as a problem to you, then your decision to put him down may be premature. Keep in mind, I did say may. Sometimes, they are too far gone to recover, but with persistent effort, sometimes not. If your mindset is that he is a problem to you, then you may have “written him off” when he could actually be revived.

2. He refuses to feed and is always sick as a result. He has lost a great deal of weight

There are numerous tried and true methods for getting problem feeders to finally feed, how many ways have you tried. If you haven’t tried the “tricks of the trade”, then you haven’t given him every chance to start feeding and recover. I personally do not know if you have or haven’t, but if not, I wouldn’t give up quite yet. I have seen snakes get to the point of needing force-fed, a definite last resort, and pull through. Once getting their strength built up and environmental conditions tweaked, they ended up fine and normal feeders. This is not always the case, but you can’t know if you haven’t tried.

When I took him to the vet I was told he was ok he just wasn't a big feeder.
He has cost me more money than he is worth and ut would be unethical for me to sell him and burder someone else with him. He is sick now and I'm not going to take him to the vet only to be charged and told he is ok after he stays at the vet's for a week.

Can you say “incompetent vet?’ Not all vets, by any stretch of the imagination, are competent with herps. You did get a bill: you did not get results. If this were a family member, I imagine you would take them to another doctor (vet in this case) and get a second opinion. Your statement that he has cost you more than he is worth really bothers me. If he were mine, it would cost whatever it cost, because that is what my creatures are “worth”. You say you do not want to go back and be charged for the same results. Well, I agree, that is a worthless expense. Again, go somewhere else! The one poster who said he/she would pay for the shipping and deal with the animal has made an offer that will cost you nothing and it could be that he/she may bring him around. There are also rescuers, experienced herpers who will take them in on occasion, and so on. I may be wrong, and apologize if I am, but it faintly sounds like you have written him off do to the time, energy, and mostly cost of following through to the end. I commend you for taking him to the vet the first time, but sometimes it takes much, much more.

4. I do not want the animal to suffer.
Then for gods’ sake, forget you ever read the post on bashing him in the head with a hammer or something. I understand the concept, but golly bob boy howdy hey geemeny whiz! If you’re a little squeamish, or nervous, or inaccurate, that one could be a mess you will always remember. Incidentally, this is not a jab at AbsoluteApril, who doesn’t personally recommend it her self, but just the idea itself. Sometimes when a vet injects the heart with the killing agent, they will miss the area my just a small amount or not have quite the right amount and the snake convulses and ends up with another shot. This is just a possibility. If I had to have it done, I would leave just in case. Fast Freezing in a deep freeze at the coldest of temps will be my method of choice if it ever comes to putting one down. No, that one isn’t perfect either, but after talking with several experienced herpers and vets about the pros and cons of each, this would be my choice.

4. WHat should I do any advice is appreciated.

Well, right off, sending him to Rose and Steve seems a plausible move. Going to a different vet could be worthwhile. I can tell by the postings, some may feel like this is more a money issue. Reading your post, I sort of read it that way myself. It may be you are just stressed and nothing has worked and you are ready to give up, many of us have been there with sick pets/animals. In the end, please try to give the animal every chance to survive. If there absolutely is no chance as diagnosed by someone experienced, then evaluate the advice given from all, and choose what will be best for the snake and you also. Nothing but best wishes on this. If you can, let us know the outcome. I coincidentally am taking one of mine to the vet today over something I could possibly treat myself, but I want to be sure my animal gets the best of treatment. I'm also just a little short on money at this moment, but it doesn't and CAN'T matter.Chuck.

rrr Aug 14, 2003 06:54 AM

couldnt help respondng to this im usually more of a lurker than a responder but couldnt help myself this time i work at a vets office in order to have a snake euthanized it would cost at the high end 60$ depending on the size of the snake that would even include disposal afterwards so if you cant afford the 60$ to put the snak down you shouldnt have one i mean we are not talking alot of $$ here better yet were are you if your close i'll come get it have it checkedout and take things from there

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