Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am breeding rats to feed my reptiles and I know you have to use CO2 or dry ice to gass the rats. I just don't know how the procedure goes. If anybody could brief me on a little detail it would be great.....Thanks joe jayskee@comcast.net

When I use CO2... I get a huge tall sided rubbermaid container, put in it about 2 inches of water, a couple of bricks, a rubbermaid container or other cage that has a lot of low-set airholes. Put the dry ice in the water and when you can't see the bricks for the fog, set the "holey" cage with the rats in it onto the bricks. This should help to be certain that the rats won't come into contact with the actual ice, but they will be gassed. I would leave them in for five minutes and then repeat again if you have more rats to gas. Some people have more elaborate setups, but this does the trick. If you aren't sure if there is enough gas, light a match and lower it into the area where the rats will be... if it's extinguished, then there is no oxygen to feed the flame, or the rats. Don't try to gas pinkies or peach fuzzies... they take as much as 20 minutes to gas, as they are resistant to hypoxia.
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~Sasheena

I have a paintball container full of Co2. its a big 20oz and it only cost me 5.00 to fill and lasts a long time.. I put the rats in a ice cream bucket with a lid and put the hose in a hole on the side and fill it up.|Be sure you put a very small hole in the lid to let out oxygen. In a few minutes dead rats...I did make the mistake of turning on the co2 too fast once and blew the top off the container. For mice I just put them in a plastic bag and hold the end around the hose. If you dont want to watch you can put the bag in a paper bag too.This might be easier than trying to find dry ice each time....

Hi,
I have a 6kg bottle of co2 for paint balling but the pressure is too much what could i do?

the tap is on or off no in between

how long does the process take for an adult rat?

Thanks

It only takes about 2-3minutes, 4 minutes to be safe for an adult rat.If you get a clear container then you can make sure they are not moving before you pull them out.I had to regas two young rats this last time but they were already passed out, just still twitching a bit..
I dont know about the problem with co2 regulation.I just twist mine on really slow till its just leaking out.I do know that if you go to one of those paintball places or maybe a hardware store they have a hose attachment with a knob that is supposed to regulate how much is coming out. I need to get one of those too, it would make it alot easier..hope this helps