I'm a picky feeder..

[exwizard]

There's so much I want to say, being an ex-rat breeder myself but there's only so much my "smart" phone can do. I guess I will wait until after I get home and on my computer.

[exwizard]

Originally Posted by iBaman

Yeah, usually they do the dry ice thing. It's faster for them...I know a lot of feeder breeders who just toss them in the freezer...

Tossing in the freezer alive is inhumane. There's no question about that.

Originally Posted by PopGoesAli

Lol the food can be super cute xD and I love all animals, I used to own a rat myself. So it's hard to see/hear them suffer

Putting them in the freezer is a smart idea just pop it in and boom! Done xD

@Grim it is sad but I just think of it as food ("it's just food ali FOOD FOOD FOOD!) Lol.
I hate when people just hand me a bag with a suffocating mouse.. And they didnt even take out any if the air to make it die faster. They tired it up with a big air bubble. Took it 20-30 minutes to die. Poor thing -.-

I used to keep pet rats myself before, long before I ever got into snakes. That being said, later when we bred rats primarily for snake food, even though we played with them to keep them pet tame, they were never pets. They were livestock and if any of them ever escaped, they were vermin. Thats just the way it was.

Originally Posted by Gungirl

Freezing to death is not humane ...

When I was breeding mice/rats for my group I was using co2 to do the job. Now that I am not breeding I have had to buy live a few times. Those times I simple snap the necks with one fast motion. They feel nothing at all and it is far more humane than freezing it to death.

Originally Posted by Gungirl

Co2... mix vinegar and baking soda. Its a gas.. Puts them to sleep then they die in their sleep.

I agree with this although Ive never had to snap the neck. When we euthanized the larger rats, we used dry ice and poured water over it to create the CO2 gas and sealed all this up in a bucket with a lid. It knocked them out fast and they went right to sleep. Of course we had top dry them off afterward before freezing them because they were always so wet. For the smaller rats and for the mice, we used "foodsaver" vacuum seal bags and sealed them up. They were done in no time and this came in handy for those who chose to use hot water to thaw them out as the rodents never got wet.

Originally Posted by exwizard

There's so much I want to say, being an ex-rat breeder myself but there's only so much my "smart" phone can do. I guess I will wait until after I get home and on my computer.

The following is just my opinion so dont take this personally....

Rats and mice are what we primarily use as snake food. That is a fact. While I believe that when euthanizing rodents is necessary it is always best to be done in as humane a method as possible, we cant let that interfere with our snakes' well being. All things in its right perspective. If one is squemish about feeding off rodents to feed his/her snakes them maybe snake ownership should be reconsidered.

One day I will breed rats and mice again should the circumstances present that opportunity for me and I will use the same methods I used before our split, when we operated jointly in this venture. Keep the rats pet tame, euthanize humanely when necessary and above all, make sure we have enough rodents to feed our snakes when its time for them to eat.

[alessia55]

The store I buy from snaps the necks on the spot for me, then puts them in a big bag, and I freeze them when I get home.

[Wyldrose]

I CO2 my rodents(vinegar and baking soda, air line tubing and an ice cream bucket). I only have one snake who doesnt like frozen but he will eat prekilled dwarf hamsters. Any tips on breaking the necks of the little buggers? They dont have more then 0.5 inch of a tail. Seems pointless to gas one hamster every week. When I gas mice it's usually a group of them.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by Wyldrose

I CO2 my rodents(vinegar and baking soda, air line tubing and an ice cream bucket). I only have one snake who doesnt like frozen but he will eat prekilled dwarf hamsters. Any tips on breaking the necks of the little buggers? They dont have more then 0.5 inch of a tail. Seems pointless to gas one hamster every week. When I gas mice it's usually a group of them.

Really... Just switch your snake to rats, you obviously didn't try hard enough.

[Wyldrose]

Live rats are illegal here(Alberta Canada is a rat free zone), if I could have them here I would. I have frozen rats and he wont touch them, warmed up, over night, zombie dance, brained etc. He eats the dwarf hamsters within a couple minutes of me putting one in with him.

[Aaron_S]

Gas chambers for rats you say?

Best one ever. CO2 Chamber

On the topic of the original poster. I have NEVER heard or done what you described. I can't believe someone would be so lazy as to suffocate a mouse. That takes awhile and it's severely inhumane.

I just broke necks when a customer wanted a pre-killed mouse for their snake. It's rather simple and easy to do on one or two animals. CO2 is a way better option for mass amounts.

[PopGoesAli]

Sadly people do it alot over here :/
It gets to me alot.
I never had a problem feeding live because
She was eating it. But when a person suffocates it, it's just so sad.
It really gets to me : T

[Wildside]

Originally Posted by PopGoesAli

Sadly people do it alot over here :/
It gets to me alot.
I never had a problem feeding live because
She was eating it. But when a person suffocates it, it's just so sad.
It really gets to me : T

That's a lot of work when you could just let the snake do it

[KORBIN5895]

Buy a paint scraper.

Place paint scraper at the base of the head and push against a hard surface.

CO² is not very humane as most people don't use it properly.

[RandyRhoads]

I feed live mice. And for rabbits I drop a 30 pounds weight on their head. Messy but effective.

[KORBIN5895]

You know what? I missed you Randy. That is the best answer yet.

[RandyRhoads]

Missed me, where'd I go??