Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm trying to figure out how to go about freezing mice for later feedings. A friend of mine has started breeding mice for his own snakes a few months ago, and now he's getting overrun with them. He has a couple ball pythons and I have just one mountain king. I want to get the pinkies and peaches from him before they get bigger but don't know how to go about safely euthanizing them to freeze for later. Should I just put them in a container while alive and freeze them? I know it sounds horrible, but they're bred to be food anyway. If anyone can tell me how I'd appreciate it. Thanks
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~~~ Joannie

All of these options are to be followed up with "...and then freeze at your leisure...."

-- throw against wall....

-- strangle with your fingers....

-- open the freezer door....

-- have friend or loved one do one of the above....

I can't be more blunt than that. But good luck!
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Jerry Kruse

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

1. toss in baggie
2. open freezer door
3. toss baggie in freezer
4. close freezer door
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Greg Jackson

That all seems pretty complicated..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

When i use to breed my own, i used either of these methods.

Method #1

If you're able to get your hands on "dry ice" you can use it to "humanely kill" the mice (they get a poor supply of oxygen and die pretty quickly)... get a piece of dry ice place it in a box with the mice, close the box, wait for them to die, place them in the freezer.

Method #2

Get a rod (wooden maybe), grab each by the tail... smack them over the head with the rod (with enough force to do damage the 1st time... torture isn't the goal here) ... wait for them to die... freeze them. (note this method can get bloody)

hope that helps...

~ZF

When using dry ice, should I use an airtight container or something porous like cardboard? I'm not very experienced with dry ice and would hate for the contents of the box to "explode" or anything. Thanks..I like this suggestion.
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~~~ Joannie

Use something that is NOT air-tight, as it can explode with extreme force, especially when any water/moisture is added. Simply put them in a plastic utility container of any type, or whatever as long as it can slightly vent from gaps, then add some dry ice to a tiny container of water. This will cause the dry ice to expell a great amount of pure Co2 gas (carbon dioxide) that will harmlessly dissipate afterwards, and it is totally harmless, except for the rodents breathing it in concentrated form of course..LOL!

You can feed them off immediately too, it is totally safe.

Or you could just slam them very abruptly on the concrete floor too. But do it hard enough that it does the job the first time, otherwise it will just allow them to be stunned and continue to suffer.

~Doug

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

.
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~~~ Joannie