Kill and FReeze?

[jjnnbns]

I am in short supply of fuzzy rats for my JCP and right now the petshop has a few alive but I dont wanna keep them alive. If i were to kill and freeze them then should i CO2 or whack em?
Can I just throw em in the freezer then?

[Auskan]

CO2 is generally accepted as the most humane method, but unless you have a few to do at once, its a bit of a hassle to set up. I have never had to do more than one at a time, and they have always been rat pups, not full grown rats, so I have whacked. I'm not sure I would attempt to whack a full grown rat as I'd be afraid of not completely killing it on the first whack. Also, I read recently that its a good idea to freeze for at least 2 weeks prior to feeding to be sure and kill any parasites living in the rodent.

[crazyboy]

if you are only buying a few and i was you id whack them on something then put them in a plastic bag and then in the freezer. but its your call.

[sapphire_moon]

I whack them, and I just did my first med sized rat whack........:( do they always twitch so much?
I also just whack and freeze, usually feed one f/k then freeze whatever else I need (after whacking them!) for atleast 1 wk. I breed my own though, it might be easier to just buy them as you need them or something like that if you can.

[mykee]

I whack mine (rats), any age. Sapphire, they do twitch a lot which is the unfortunate side effect of whacking. Just make sure you hit 'em hard enough, or they'll twitch, then just sort of lay there breathing very heavily for a LONG time.

[sapphire_moon]

so if they twitch alot it's a good thing? it means they are dead right? I didn't know, so when he started twitching I whacked him again just to make sure.
When I did it the first time he just layed there then all of a sudden just started twitching! It freaked me out! It looked like his eyes were going to fall out of his head........
Do you find it gets easier to do every time you do it?

[jjnnbns]

The fuzzies I whacked died the first time but twitched for quite a while. I can't just buy as I need though as I'm not sure how long we're gonna be using rat fuzzies so I dont wanna buy in bulk. PEtco here doesnt sell rats smaller than sm adult, and the other petshop hasnt had any fuzzies in a few weeks, so I'm gonna hafta take advantage whenever possible.

[Linds]

Mine don't twitch often, but I hit them very, very hard. I put jump in to my swing :eek: Some people say twitching is ok, but I don't know. Animals can twitch if they are dead or alive, so it doesn't bring me much comfort. Since sometimes mine do twitch, I have now employed the double or triple hit.

Originally posted by Auskan
Also, I read recently that its a good idea to freeze for at least 2 weeks prior to feeding to be sure and kill any parasites living in the rodent.

The parasites in the rodent aren't really much of a concern. They cannot infest a snake, as they are a different type of pinworm than the kind snakes are affected by. They typically just pass through, or live very briefly. Due to this, even if a snakes fecal results are not negative for pinworms, does not necessarily indicate that they have an infestion of pinworms either.

[sapphire_moon]

I will do that next time, the double/tripple hit. He didn't twitch at first, like for 10 seconds, didn't do anything at all. Then when I went to put him back in the bucket (I still had him by the tail!) he started twitching bad enough to swirl around! So I whacked him again, and again, (three times all together!). It really creeped me out because he didn't do anything at first!

[snakehunter]

I use pliers to crush the spinal chord @ the base of the skull, some one said that they feel alot, and it takes along time, but i think that the time is that of a constrictor kill

[Dark_Angel_25]

snakehunter: yeah ok maybe it is, but wouldn't you want to kill your feeders humaely? I mean, they DO suffer when killed by the snake.. why not make it as quick as possible??

[Auskan]

Sapphire, did you just hold the rat by the tail and whack? That is game! I am too chicken to do that so I put them in a cloth sack with a drawstring so I can't actually see them when I whack. Its a small sack and I make sure they are in the bottom of it before I swing, so I'm pretty confident of hitting the table at the right place. So far that's always worked for me. Also, I feel like I can put more force in it by starting further back and putting all my weight behind the strike, than if I had the rat by the tail.

[Lisa]

iff i have to whack a rodent i do it against the floor so gravity can assist me. wind up too. not suggested for pinks though (SPLAT)

[K1LOS]

what a gruesome topic! I guess its part of the hobby, but i had a few chuckles reading through. Would drowning be any faster/better? I suppose for the CO2 you could likely set them up behind the tail pipe of your car or something. Probably would want to clean it afterwards though. I have to tell you, i don't think i'd be able to do it! I'd end up having pet rats or something...


Geoff

[sapphire_moon]

yup, but I don't remember actually seeing it hit the rail. I think I closed my eyes! lol.

Drowning is horrible, it takes like 3-5 minutes to drown, have you ever been caught underwater before, every minute seems like an eternity, it puts you in panic and fear, so tell me if that is humane?
I figure with whacking there is a few seconds of fear as I swing. Simply because I pick them up by the tail to transport anyways, so they are used to this. So only fear is when I swing, which takes a few seconds then they are dead.

[vanderkm]

Drowning is a prolonged death due to suffocation but there is a lot of struggling in response to water in the lungs - not fast or humane.

Trying to kill with the CO2 from the tail pipe of a car is also not humane because the exhaust coming directly from the tail pipe is quite hot - burns the airways before loss of consciousness. If you use a really long pipe that would allow the exhaust to cool it could work, but there is always danger to the operator because of exhaust accumulating in an enclosed area.

Cervial dislocation (breaking the neck at the base of the skull) or severe blunt trauma to the skull are humane resulting in almost immediate unconsciousness when done correctly. They are the best methods of killing other than a proper CO2 chamber.

mary v.