Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need to feed 1 and 2 pound rabbits to a couple of my boas now-a-days. I do not have the choice to use frozen as i have no deep freeze. I am just wondering what the most humane way to euthanize these rabbits so i can use fresh killed? Any opinions?
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1.1 Columbian common boas (Zeus, Athena)
0.1 BCI 50% het albino salmon (Aprodite)
1.1 Corn snakes (Appolo, Boreas)
0.1 King snake tri striped cal morph (Helios)

well, the way I do it, I don't necessarily like doing, but I remind myself that it is much more humane than letting it get strangled by a snake. I grab it by the hind legs, and smack them on the ground. Try to smack them in the back of the head, it will kill them instantly, along with avoiding any bloodshed from the nose, which happens if you hit other spots of the head or face. When the nerves kick in the the rabbit starts jerking, blood can fly all over, its a real mess.

Or, an even easier way, I know a guy who just takes a hammer to the back of the head.

I know it sucks, I hated it at first too, but you get used to it, atleast its quick and painless this way.

I have tried a few of the mentioned ways but just hearing and seeing all the blood really shocked me and i was trembling for hours. I was just wondering if there are other humane ways to do this otherwise im gonna go frozen.
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1.1 Columbian common boas (Zeus, Athena)
0.1 BCI 50% het albino salmon (Aprodite)
1.1 Corn snakes (Appolo, Boreas)
0.1 King snake tri striped cal morph (Helios)

A larger CO2 chamber???
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
12.24 BRB
11.13 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I buy them live, just because they are cheaper. There is no place local to buy frozen rabbits, so I would have to do it online. Buying them frozen, then paying for shipping, gets quite expensive because shipping is usually almost equal to the price of the rabbits. Plus I buy 4-7lb rabbits (Albino Labrynth Burms). So I usually buy them 15 at a time, bring them home, knock them out, and I have a deep freezer in my basement for just frozen rodents because its all use. I refuse to do live. I bag them up 2-3 to a plastic bag, put them in a freezer, and forget about them until I need them.

Frozen would be my first choice, but you said this is not an option for you.
When I run out of frozen food I put the animal in a trash bag, whack it on the garage floor and its done. Usually there is no real mess, but you can usually just dump the prey from the bag into the cage depending on how your cage is designed.

The ease and convinience of feeding frozen (along with me really starting to feel bad when pre-kills did not go so easy) is what promped me to cough up $100 for a one cubic foot freezer off of ebay. Problem now is the snake collection is growing and a larger freezer is on the wish list.
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- Jason F.

Please allow me reiterate what "rainbows-r-us" said;
A CO2 chamber.

If you've got a couple of boas that you need to pre-kill prey for, do you really want to be whackin' rabbits in the back of the head 20 years from now?

I made one a few years ago and I went overboard and even bought from an expensive place. I've got about $100 in mine but they can be made for less. I was thrilled & proud that I made one the first time I put some rats down. And I ain't no PETA fan, either. They simply go to sleep and a minute later they're dead.

I can put down about 30 large rats or 2 - 6lb rabbits at one time. For mere pennies more, you can make it even bigger. The main costs are the tank & valve. The hose, gas and tub are cheap, unless you go with a braided hose like I did. the plastic, coiled air compressor type hose is cheap & just as effective.

Spend the money, you'll be glad you did.

Have a good one!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Could you possibly post a diagram or pictures of your CO2 chamber?

Thank You,
Widj

I was looking for my camera last night so I could take some pics but couldn't find it. I found it today and here's a link to some pics of my annihilation chamber (CO2 chamber).

It's not perfect, by far, but it works great for my & my needs. If any of you have some helpful hints/tips to make it better, please, by all means, chime in.

Annihilation Chamber

Ya'll take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.