Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all..
Just wondering if anyone out there would be willing to build me a CO2 chamber for killing large rats(and eventually rabbits)?
I have a burm that will NOT eat frozen, but will eat pre-killed or live. I hate killing the rats but a gas chamber wouldn't bother me as much I don't think. (Of course I would pay for the chamber)

You can save yourself money by just setting up a temporary 'chamber' each time you need to use one.

Its easy:

1) get a small plastic waste barrel, or similar container, large enough to hold the prey item(s).
2) get a small amount of dry ice (less than ~1lb).
3) place a portion of the dry ice in a cup of warm water, then place the cup into the plastic container with the rat(s)/rabbit(s).

The carbon dioxide that evolves from the dry ice will displace the air in the container, as it is heavier than air. It only takes a few seconds for the prey to initially pass out, then ultimately asphyxiate. It is painless, quick, clean, and the only humane way of putting down prey that I will do myself. Also, it is safe, as it doesn't leave any chemical residue in the prey animal's flesh (as chemical injections would).

Alternatively, if you can't readily get dry ice in your area, you could probably use a canister of carbon dioxide; though I'm not sure just where one would get such a thing.

Hope this helps,
- Mark
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A friend of mine uses dry ice..it works well.

Exactly, where would one obtain dry ice? Just curious, because I like the idea.

Thanks,

Chris
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U.A.P.P.E.A.L.
Uniting A Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League

Any big grocery store chain such as albertsons. you have to ask for it,it's not something you'll see on display.Also most icecream shops sell it.

Nice idea, thanks Mark and others. I don't have dry ice readily available to my knowledge. You say most ice cream shops sell it though? (and never heard of albertsons) I live in Montgomery, AL not much demand for dry ice here I don't think. hehe

kilhd,
i am from AL as well and had a hard time finding dry ice in birmingham. I tried the whole grocery store/butcher thing and never had any luck, it was around halloween time when i first started searching so i checked novelty shops as well, with no luck. We looked in the yellow pages under "dry ice" and found a local package store/ice house that sells it for like $7.00 for way more than enough than you need. I use a small aquarium and put down a couple of rabbits at one time using a small bucket with some water in it to melt it faster, it is quick and effective. I did a quick search on yellowpages.com and found the listings below. Not sure how recent these listings are but, give em a call and see.

Crystal Ice Co
807 Jeff Davis Ave
Selma, AL 36701
(334) 872-3501

Gulf Ice Inc
736 Oliver Rd
Montgomery, AL
(334) 244-1811

Morgan Robert E Jr
4094 County Rd 44
Selma, AL
(334) 875-1282

You can buy CO2 at any welding supply shop and the canisters come in many different sizes, also pretty cheap

Take a look below, it is very simple to build. Dry ice does work well, sometimes messy and a pain to work with at time. I went to my local "paint-ball" shop and built what you see below. Easy, painless, effective, and very cost effective - it only costs 3 bucks to fill my canister. I can fit a few larger rabbits in at a time or a whole slew of rats, etc.

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2.1 RTB (Zander, Ridick, Liliana)
1.1 Burms (Vladamir, Natalia)
0.1 Lavender Albino Retic (Katerina)
1.1 100% Het Tigers (Nicholi & Charlamaine)
2.3 Silver fox rabbits
many, many, many, many rats
"New strategy R-2, Let the Wookie Win!!!"

how many uses do you get from that little canister? I like the set up .

I get about 2 months using it every weekend at least twice.
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2.1 RTB (Zander, Ridick, Liliana)
1.1 Burms (Vladamir, Natalia)
0.1 Lavender Albino Retic (Katerina)
1.1 100% Het Tigers (Nicholi & Charlamaine)
2.3 Silver fox rabbits
many, many, many, many rats
"New strategy R-2, Let the Wookie Win!!!"