Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently published directions on how to make a cheap CO2 euthanasia chamber over on instructables.com. Anyway, I was wondering if any of you would like to chime in about anything or give me any tips.

Thanks.

Here's the link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Feed-a-snake-the-safe-way-with-CO2/
Link

i use a paintball tank with an adapter hose. just put the hose tip into a hole in the side of a plastic tub. Make sure the rats are already in the tub and release it very slowly untill they start to wobble and fall over, then turn it up just a little. It is very easy and simple and the most humane way i have found

I wholly agree with this statement. That's the same way I do it.

I've tried the dry ice method (with and without water) and the CO2 tanks. I have a regulator on the tank that lets me release the gas pretty slowly at first. So far I have yet to see a mouse peacefully go to sleep. I'm going to try this a few more times perhaps, but if I don't see humane results, forget it.

The only other thing I can think of is to find a vet who will sell me some Halothane and buy an anesthesia vaporizer or something. I'm getting rather frustrated with this, and these feeder mice are starting to take over my life. I should have never bred so many mice. I underestimated their capacity to breed to huge numbers in a short period of time. It was irresponsible, and nobody is going to clean this mess up for me, so I've got to find the right way to deal with it.

>>I've tried the dry ice method (with and without water) and the CO2 tanks. I have a regulator on the tank that lets me release the gas pretty slowly at first. So far I have yet to see a mouse peacefully go to sleep. I'm going to try this a few more times perhaps, but if I don't see humane results, forget it.

I gotta say I have killed or seen "put down" my fair share of animals from pets, to domestic food animals to rodents for snake food. No living thing just drops dead. It isn't the way life is. A healthy living thing dies hard. Some harder than others. I honestly don't know what you are seeing that is distressing but I am thinking find someone that has put a lot of mice in the freezer and make a trade with them. Killing an animal, humanely or not, is not fun to a healthy normal person. (I think this is why my dh says I need a shirt that says "Professional Killer"
-----
Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

Yeah I just tried again and I guess it wasn't so bad. The mouse had a little labored breathing, but it wasn't panicking or struggling badly, and it was pretty quick. I suppose I can live with this. If I don't euthanize these mice I'm gonna go nuts trying to take care of them all, so it's me or them at this point. And when I see my snakes eat them, at least I know they didn't die for nothing. Thanks for the help!

I'm glad you're coming to terms with the reality of this. We all know this is not the "fun" part of our hobby. The reality is our pets eat other animals. And, it's safer for our pets to eat something that can't fight back.

Really only two choices, pay someont to do the dirty work (buy F/T) or do the dirty work ourselves.

I myself have put down thousands of rodents and while it gets easier over time, it's still not pleasant!!

I know you already know thi but it's important to NOT let yourself get back nto this situation once you dig yourself out.

Unless a rodent breeder has an outlet for surplus animals, you NEED to control production somehow. If tub breeding then by how many females actively being bred. Another method I have used for years is cycle breeding. Putting non pregnant females into the males tub when I want to start litters and pulling them out just before giving birth. This way you know the max number of litters you are going to have in any given week and can adjust up and down as your needs and supply change.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

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

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks again for the moral support guys! The regulator I use is actually pretty good. It's a Kobalt, made for pneumatic power tools. You can get them at Home Depot for about $70 or $80. All you really need is that regulator, a container and a CO2 tank.

If you have the dry ice with just a couple of drops of water in the closed cooler for a little while before putting hte mice in, the one I have done fell asleep before I even got them allthe way to the bottom of the cooler.
-----
1.2 Ghost Corns, Beetlejuice, Casper and Spooky
1.1 Charcoal het pewter, Smokey and Flame
1.1 Hypo het lavender, Rosy and Rocko
1.0 Anery, Goku
0.1 Amel, Sunny
2.0 Tabby Cats, Daddycat and his son Brat
0.1 Australian Shepherd, Angel

Gypsy

That's really good - it does clearly state everything you need to know. You might want to go over is slowly to check for missed words - I think there are two missing to complete sentenses, but it's not a big deal since it's still quite clear.

Thanks! I'm shortly going to build one myself since I'm starting rodent breeding too.

Great job!

Hey, thanks for the encouragement!

May you have dozens of litters and all good mommies!

Here's my deal:

http://www.strictlyballs.ca/FAQ/CO2Chamber.html

Enjoy.
-----
www.strictlyballs.ca

So do you guys get the mice to close their eyes, or do they die with their eyes open? I noticed that the photos on a few of the big dealers sites show the mice with their eyes closed. This would seem to indicate that they get them to fall asleep during the start of the euthanizing process. How is this achieved? My CO2 regulator allows for a pretty low rate of flow, but so far I haven't figured out how to get them to go to sleep. Perhaps they euthanize them right in the tub where they live and do it while they're asleep?

Eh... It's half and half. Sometimes when I put rabbits or the chickens down, their eyes will be closed, sometimes open.

Like an earlier post stated - start with a very slow flow at first until the animal wobbles and then falls down. Then you increase it. Too much too fast and the animal will struggle and choke. Once you get enough practice in, you'll be able to do it effortlessly. Practicing is the important part.

Okay, I think if I use a bigger chamber the mice will go to sleep a little more gradually instead of choking while they're wide awake. Even with the CO2 regulator turned as low as it can go, with a small container the reaction is too fast. I figure the CO2 will mix with the oxygen more slowly in a bigger container. Hopefully that will achieve more humane results. It will require more CO2, but if it works better, then I won't feel so bad about doing it.