Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

Buying mice is starting to get a little expensive and I want to start breeding mice. I have heard that you just put the new born mice in the freazer and and wait untill there frozen and I was wandering if there is another way to kill the mice.

CO2 works well for killing mice. Apparently newborn mice have a natural resistance to asphyxiation, so it doesn't work as well on them?
For larger mice you also have the option of physically killing them, through cervical dislocation and otherwise. I don't think physical methods would work well on pinkies, but I could be wrong.
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-audri
Webpage/Pics

>>Hi,
>>
>>Buying mice is starting to get a little expensive and I want to start breeding mice. I have heard that you just put the new born mice in the freazer and and wait untill there frozen and I was wandering if there is another way to kill the mice.

Hi

I usually "hang out" on the feeder forum, although I've been lurking here for quite a few years. <g> If you haven't checked the feeder forum yet, there's a lot of good info there!

Audri is definitely correct, pinks and even young fuzzies are resistant to CO2. Although it's often suggested to "just freeze" them, I always "thump" them lightly before freezing them off. Because I've always done very small scale breeding, it's been my habit to purchase "tiny" ziplock-type bags from a craft store, place one pink in each one, then lightly "thump" it against a hard surface - not enough to do damage but enough to ensure the pink is unconscious. Take care not to place several live pinks together in one bag or container... they will "huddle" for warmth and this would prolong their demise. The key of course is to be humane.

Hope this helped....
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Rebecca
TSBabe66@hotmail.com
Honored to moderate at Snakefeeders, a great place to buy/sell/trade feeder animals. Come check us out! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snakefeeders/

Thanks for the information.