Usually an overdose of sodium pentabarbital (same as used on dogs and cats) injected into the body cavity. Once the turtle is a little drowsy, a fatal dose can be injected into the main blood vessel that runs right under the edge of the shell along the neck. Of course, this is done by a qualified vet experienced with chelonians. It's often described, appropriately, as being "put to sleep". The animal literally goes to sleep and never wakes up (if the dosing is right).

AFTER the pentabarbital has taken affect, many vets recommend putting a reptile in a freezer over night, to ensure the animal doesn't recover in case the dosing was wrong. If you have an animal with inoperable cancer, for example, you don't want it waking up again if the dose was wrong. It sounds strange, but it's hard to tell in some reptiles when they've truly passed, so it's best to put the body in the freezer over night AFTER the euthanizing agent has taken affect.

Freezing alone IS NOT a humane method for reptiles, unless we're talking about a very small animal.

Katrina

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