How do you F/K

[GoodSmeagol]

I used to do F/T
I prefer F/K because I breed my own feeders now.
Mostly Natal rats(2 trio's)
And 1 trio of mice.

Babys are easy to stun/kill fast
I have always had trouble with adult rats/mice, and took the live chance.
A Russian Roulette...
Been very lucky, however, a good gambler knows when to fold.
I FOLD
What is the best way to stun/kill adults?

Please no *feeding live is dumb blah blah
I know its not ideal, and next feed will be F/K

Thanks for your opinions

[Wolfus_305]

I'm really not sure how to answer your question but I have one of my own...
If F/T is "frozen thawed" what is F/K?
Kenny

[phil_7870]

i think it means fresh killed

[Wolfus_305]

Oh.
That makes sense!
Thanks
Kenny

[Aaron_S]

I know of some people who have home made gas chambers. It's ideal for getting rid of a lot of them at once and then you can freeze them too!

[GoodSmeagol]

I am just looking for how everyone else Fresh/Kills = F/K
So I can improve upon my own.
Thanks

[Kmef07]

go to the website Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY (http://www.instructables.com) and search homemade gas chamber. i built a variation on this and have used it and it worked well.

[never25]

i usually grab the rat by the tail and smack it on the ground. you could also hit it in the head with a wooden spoon. dont know if you have stomach to do that but just trying to help. good luck

[GoodSmeagol]

i usually grab the rat by the tail and smack it on the ground. you could also hit it in the head with a wooden spoon. dont know if you have stomach to do that but just trying to help. good luck


I have tried a ruler whip to the base of the skull, but did not get 100% results, that I do not have the stomach for.

A positive recommendation none the less thank you.

[Kmef07]

i would probably say one of the best ways would be a plastic tub and then in the freezer the rat would just kinda fall asleep or if you don't want a cold rat you could just do a plastic tub and make sure it is air tight and it would really just put the rat to sleep that way too. its the same as a gas chamber but it would happen a lot slower. but either way there is no effect on the rat it is completely humane.

[GoodSmeagol]

i would probably say one of the best ways would be a plastic tub and then in the freezer the rat would just kinda fall asleep or if you don't want a cold rat you could just do a plastic tub and make sure it is air tight and it would really just put the rat to sleep that way too. its the same as a gas chamber but it would happen a lot slower. but either way there is no effect on the rat it is completely humane.


I might go one step above that, a air tight plastic tub with a whipcream charger glued to it with the nozzle in the tub

use a CO2 bullet instead of the No5
then its just a matter of pulling the trigger for a few seconds.
I can get bulk bullets for 10cents a piece through work.

[Kmef07]

ya that would accomplish the same thing just a little quicker. lol.

[Smilts]

I hate to have to do this and in fact all of my snakes now eat F/T. but when I had to I used a over sized ice cream scoop made of metal to the back of the head perfect results everytime and fast and clean. Also as Aaron said for mass humane uths a homemade gas chamber is easy quick and clean.

[Aaron_S]

Why do people tend to bash rats over the head with a blunt object? I prefer just whacking them really hard against a hard surface. It's quicker than having a blunt object and you don't have to worry about it missing the "right spot" as you might have with a wooden spoon or the like.

[Kmef07]

well hell i dunno i think i might just try a shotgun that will defiantly get perfect results....


.....might not be anything left for the snake to eat though

[mykee]

Co2 is the most humane way to kill feeders, and if you breed your own rats or mice, you MUST have a setup that can kill larger numbers of rodents safely and humanely. Here is a link to my step by step CO2 Chamber:
StrictlyBalls.ca - How to Build a CO2 Chamber (http://strictlyballs.ca/co2chamber.html)

[Kmef07]

hey great link and nice website i dont think i've checked it out before. i've spent like an hour on it already.

[Faequine]

its just like using anesetic, lol. (the gas that puts things to sleep. I know my sp was off there. Plus with rodents they use a gas chamber too)
Edit: I cant wait till 2010, so i can go to NAIT and take their AHT course. (Animal Health Tech) Plus i wish they'd let you specalize, in herbs.

[mykee]

Thanks Kyle, I've put a great deal of thought and consequently, work into my site over the last few years focusing mostly on information that is useful to fellow breeders/hobbyists. Glad you found my link (and site) useful.

[GoodSmeagol]

Didi Mykee, thanks for thelink.
I will build a chamber on my days off.
I will use the CO2 bullets with the whip cream charger however(Very cheap for me through work)

The anesthetic used to put animals asleep, I would not be comfortable, if it puts the rat to sleep, what will happen to the snake when it is injested?
CO2 will not harm the snake fursure, because I know it will not react in the stomach as it did in the rats lungs.

Thanks for the positive posts!

[citysnakes]

Co2 is the most humane way to kill feeders, and if you breed your own rats or mice, you MUST have a setup that can kill larger numbers of rodents safely and humanely. Here is a link to my step by step CO2 Chamber:
StrictlyBalls.ca - How to Build a CO2 Chamber (http://strictlyballs.ca/co2chamber.html)

Mike thank you so much for being the only one to post in this entire thread an actual humane way to euthanize feeder rodents.

great link by the way.

[Aaron_S]

Mike thank you so much for being the only one to post in this entire thread an actual humane way to euthanize feeder rodents.



Excuse me? Read post number 5.

[mykee]

Hey everybody, keep this between ourselves....Aaron is an attention whoooore....
LOL..

[Kmef07]

Mike thank you so much for being the only one to post in this entire thread an actual humane way to euthanize feeder rodents.


Read my first post on the first page too!!!!!!! i posted a link of how to build a c02 Chamber too!!!! its just not as nice as the one mykee posted. lol

[Kmef07]

Also mykee i found the build on the racks the best because i've been trying to do a ton of research on how to make a good economic rack and your site defiantly is the easiest and cheapest and just best as far as use that i have found. the only thing im curious on is why you hook the probe of the thermostat to the heat tape and not inside one of the cages? don't you want the temp to be controlled on the inside of the box? or are you doing it by if the heat tape is set at 100f then it keeps the tubs at 85? that is just an example not actual numbers.

[citysnakes]

ok children, i apologize for not thanking you for your thoughts on page one.

...i must have just been reading the very inhumane methods you guys posted after those first ones.:rolleyes:

[Smilts]

what would be the definitioin of humane? :)

[GoodSmeagol]

Well, humane, the amaerican version of humane is electrocution chair.
Some places in the world still hang their death row inmates.
Some places worse.
If CO2 was humane, why do we not use it in American prisons?
We want to be, Animane? Mamane? either way, any way we do it, its nature, what is easiest to watch and carry out?
We cant exactly electrocute our rats before we feed them can we?

of course this is a huge hyperbole
but seriously, would electrocution have any effects on the snake?

[Aaron_S]

When you've got customers lined up wanting different things you gotta do what you gotta do. I don't think it's any more inhumane than gas though. Both kill the animals. The version of hitting of is just a lot quicker.

Yes, I like my credit Mykee...gots a problem with that?! :P

[Faequine]

btw i was trying to point out that the chambers would be similar, and in used in similar ways, just for different propouses.

[mykee]

Kyle, I prefer to tape down my probe to the heat tape and calibrate the temps in the enclosure that way rather than inserting the probe into the enclosure for one simple reason; I can control the probe better outside the enclosure than in it. The snake can move the probe, pee on it, lay on it, etc. All things that will change the input to the thermostat therby changing the temps innappropriately. I set my thermsotats to 94 for adults and 93 for hatchlings/yearlings and because of the rock solid consistent temps in my reptile room, the heat tape is only working at 97-98 degrees. The differences between the thermostat setting and the actual in the enclosure settings are always because of the ambient air temp. I don't know how many times I read on the forums that people have their thermostats set at 93, and they can only get them up to 77. They him and haw that their thermostats and/or heat tape is dysfunctional until it finally comes to pass that the ambient air temps in their room is 61 degrees. I keep my room between 80-82 all year. Never had an issue.

[Chu'Wuti]

CO2 will not harm the snake fursure, because I know it will not react in the stomach as it did in the rats lungs.

CO2 doesn't "react" in the lungs. It simply replaces the O2 that we rely on. All of us breathe in both O2 and CO2 (and several other gasses). When an animal is given pure CO2 to breathe, it simply asphixiates because the O2 in its body is replaced by the CO2. The animal may experience a few moments of dizziness, rapid breathing, and increased heart rate as its body speeds up breathing & heart rate in an effort to get more oxygen. However, this won't last long, as once the CO2 levels in the atmosphere it is breathing go up over 5%, asphixiation is certain within minutes. Then it will simply go to sleep.

Once it is dead, the CO2 in its body--specifically, its blood--has been converted to other forms, such as bicarbonate and carbaminos, that are not harmful to other life.

[Kmef07]

Kyle, I prefer to tape down my probe to the heat tape and calibrate the temps in the enclosure that way rather than inserting the probe into the enclosure for one simple reason; I can control the probe better outside the enclosure than in it. The snake can move the probe, pee on it, lay on it, etc. All things that will change the input to the thermostat therby changing the temps innappropriately. I set my thermsotats to 94 for adults and 93 for hatchlings/yearlings and because of the rock solid consistent temps in my reptile room, the heat tape is only working at 97-98 degrees. The differences between the thermostat setting and the actual in the enclosure settings are always because of the ambient air temp. I don't know how many times I read on the forums that people have their thermostats set at 93, and they can only get them up to 77. They him and haw that their thermostats and/or heat tape is dysfunctional until it finally comes to pass that the ambient air temps in their room is 61 degrees. I keep my room between 80-82 all year. Never had an issue.


When i actually set up my reptile room i am defiantly going to keep a radiant heater to keep the room at the correct temp and then i will do the heat tape under the tubs just like you described. so the gradient in your tubs go from like 95 or so over the heat tape and then tapers to a little over room temp? My setup now is crazy it gets like 80 in the corners in the day and then the "basking spot" is around mid 90s and then around that is 87-82 and then at night the corners go to 73 and the rest stays mostly the same. but about 3-4 degrees cooler. i've been told that is pretty much ideal for brb babies.