Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got a rescue that appears to be experiencing organ failure (herp vet's opinion, he has a clean bill of health otherwise...its really weird). I've been expecting him to pass for almost a week now, but he's still breathing. Almost completely listless. He is not in pain. This sounds horrible but I just want him to get on with it...but every morning he's still alive.

I'm assuming, since they're cold blooded, reptiles are euthanized by freezing them? It seems like the most humane way to put them to sleep. Is this correct?

I don't know why this one's hanging in there but I can't think of anything else we can do. I think euthanasia is the kindest thing for him since he's basically comatose....I just want to get more information on it.
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

carbon dixoide chambers is the best way.

Hmm...I just read that freezing them forms ice crystals in the tissue, which is rather painful. I guess I was way wrong about that one...
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

Putting them in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes will put them into a kind of cold coma. This way they're pretty much out of it when you put them in the freezer.
-Alice

Honestly the fastest and most humane way to kill a reptile or feeder rodent is to break the neck..... It is fast, clean, and painless.....

Co2 chambers are not fast.... It can take a while for an animal to suffocate....

Freezing causes ice to form in tissues and can be quite painful and it also takes too long for the animal to freeze....

A broken neck or blunt trama is the way to do it humanely....

You may find it just easier to have the vet euthanise it for you. They give them an overdose of an anesthetic and they simply go to sleep and then they die, its quick and painless. Also, since the cost is based on weight, it would be pretty inexensive.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

no post
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

Poor little guy. I'm glad this is over - he finally gave up on life quietly in his quarentine. I'm relieved I don't have to cart him back to the vet another time. I guess he just got the short end of the stick in life.
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

My condolences,
I hate when you lose one. In a way be glad you didn't have to make the final decision.

God added another leo to his collection......

Tony

Thank you...

Well, He's got a pretty good collection...I can vouch for many of them.

I swear I'm going to make it a law for pet owners to be screened and have permits before owning animals. Its so hard to keep doing this but its the ones that have made it and are thriving that keep me going.

Cheers to everyone here for continual self-education. Myself included - I will never stop learning!
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

just adding my two cents, in the hopes that other people will read this. also falling asleep, so kind of quit. never fridge/freeze with reptiles. please pass at least this much on to anyone else you ever hear suggesting that. okay with amphibians so long as you dope them up with some mouth-numb-er (i think ones called anbesol) first, and wait quite some time in between transition. the best way is to NOT do it yourself, but to have a vet do it. it is so cheap, many vets will do it for free. if you must (like, if you just hit a snake fatally on the road or something), do NOT simply decapitate/break the neck. as ectotherms/cold-blooded, whatever term you use, their brains can last for up to 20 minutes independently of anything else (meaning, decapitated). so, instead, you must 'pith' them. this means taking a metal rod/spike about the estimated size of their braincase, and shoving it from the base of the cranium into the brain case (from behind), and moving it around to mush up the brain. this renders the animal braindead and it will not feel pain after that (if you hit the right spot), though the brain stem might be lower and still working. alternatively, you can just do the 'smash with a big rock' thing. though it sounds unsavory, if you are careful to smash the cranium, it has the same effect. if you have a long-suffering animal (one that doesn't need to be put down immediately), you can make your own carbon dioxide chamber with a sealable plastic bag (like you buy crickets in, for example). it will eventually use up all the oxygen on its own, and it purportedly 'feels like going to sleep.'

personally, i would never use any of these methods unless an animal was clearly fatally injured/sick, i was absolutely sure of the situation, and there was no possibility of going to a vet.

hope that helps. i am just sick to death of hearing about people putitng their reptiles in the freezer.
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marla
currently: 0.0.9 catfish, 0.1 ferrets, 0.0.14 hermit crabs (of unknown species), 2.8.4 leopard geckoes, 0.0.6 korean fire-bellied toads, 0.0.6 strawberry hermit crabs, and 0.2.0 sugar gliders