'nice' way to kill a rat?

[Gregg M]

When I have to kill big rats, I put them in a strong plastic bag like the ones you would use for putting leaves in...... Then I smack it up against a real hard surface....... It is over in one shot and the rat feels nothing....... I hate killing rats and mice...... I love all creatures hairy and scalely, but my snakes gotta eat...... That is why I mostly buy frozen mice and rats.....

[Linds]

C02 works well and is the easiest way to do them in for the squeamish. I just put them in a dark pillowcase and hit them hard off the concrete floor or wall in the basement. Have to do it hard enough though. Your girlfriend won't have to actually see the animal being killed this way so its a step up from banging them off the tank

Originally posted by CyberGhost
I get suram wrap [cling wrap] the plastic stuff you wrapp food in. I get the mouse/rat and wrapp him up in it suffacates them quick.

Quick??? This can take more than 4 minutes for the animal to die... have you ever ran out of air under water? Every second seems like eternity... think about 4 minutes of this... can you imagine what kind of panic you put the animal through by this???

[CyberGhost]

I find this to be totally untrue science may say this but how many times has it been proven wrong. They die in less then a minute besides I usually put them in and stick them in the freezerso they also coulf freeze to death. I likr/love rats/mice and keep some as pets but my snakes have to eat and they have to die somtime I put them in a plastic wheel thin gand drop them they die instantly but when I have to freeze suran wrap all the way its easy and fast. I would use a co2 chamber but I dont know where to get one and their probly expensive.

[vanderkm]

CyberGhost - even if they did die in a minute, they do not lose consciousness immediately and putting rodents in the freezer and using Saran wrap to immobilize them is not a humane method of killing. A minute is a long time to be struggling for air and even pinkies, that operate on very instinctual drives, will struggle to find warmth and to breathe if they cannot. I cannot dictate what method you use to kill prey animals, but I can't let you suggest either freezing a conscious animal or suffocating it is a humane and acceptable method of killing. These are cruel and brutal and result in excessively prolonged suffering, as Linds has said. Don't kid yourself by putting them in the freezer out of sight - it doesn't change the facts.

Carbon dioxide causes death from lack of oxygen, but differs from suffocation in that the gas produces unconsciousness very rapidly, so the animal does not feel the suffering of being without oxygen. For people who do not want to invest in a proper set up to use carbon dioxide gas, cervical dislocation (breaking the neck) or severe blunt trauma to the head (whacking) produce instantaneous unconsciousness when done correctly. These are humane methods, but require practice and are too hands-on for some people. For them, I suggest buying frozen prey. No one should be putting rodents in a container and suffocating or freezing them - where you can fool yourself that it is ok because you don't see them struggle and twitch.

I hope you will reconsider the methods you use to kill prey animals or make the switch to buying frozen, but regardless, I hope no-one will follow the advice you gave on this thread.

mary v.

[Linds]

Freezing is far worse than drowning, adult rats have been known to survive more than 24 hours in a freezer! They feel this slow death, they feel their blood cells crystallizing and so forth.

[yankeefoxtrot]

I agree, that sounds really mean to me. I usually just put them in a bag and smack them against the wall. Its still hard for me to do but i love my snakes. I would rather be smashed against a wall than froze!!!

Lucas

[remsin76]

yea freezing wrapped in saran wrap is terrible.

i have a stun gun i think it can knock a rat out in less than a second u think that i should use that???

[theroom101]

My preferred method of killing is cervical dislocation for larger rodents, like rats, and a good thwack for smaller rodents, like adult mice. I have found it very very rare for an adult mouse to not suffer instant death when thumped in a proper manner.

However, since rats strike me as somewhat "smarter looking" than mice (and make better pets), I prefer to avoid having to pre-kill them at all. I made deliberate efforts to get all of my rat-feeding snakes on F/T diets before they moved beyond adult mice. It would probably worthwhile for you to get your baby on a F/T diet for ease of feeding and your girlfriend's peace of mind. ;-)

Good luck with whatever process you choose. =)

[Mike177]

i hear if you put a rat in a sock first and then wack it, it wont move and it is easer never done it myself. also if you want to get a snake from live to frozen try doing prekilled for a month and then try frozen thawed and then warmed and if that dosent work try not feeding the snake for a wile(not too long but long enouph to make it realy hungry) and then try it worked for me and all my snakes now eat frozen thoed

[baller]

I just feed my snake live then im not the one actually killing it. I only do this because this snake was born eating live and he wouldnt eat dead.

[suckrpnch]

:::Update:::

I think I finally have her eating frozen / thawed. I had to dangle it in front of her by the tail,, but she took it. Didnt really seem as enthusiastic about eating but I feel a little better.

Thanks for all the info people.

bryan

I guess the ol Rev has no feelings, I figure dead is dead and how they get that way in the long run is irrelevant.

[V.hb]

I somewhat agree with Rev, In the end the animal is dying anyways, one way or another you're killing it. each way has its own suffering, and each way also has an explanation to make the person doing it feel better. You can believe all of the methods are "humane" but they're not.. A living thing is still dying.. And to be perfectly honest I dont see any reason to fresh kill an animal. Defrost, and scent on a live rodent. it works just as well.

Buy from a reputable "Pre-killed" supplier and let them do the killing for you.

[17730turtlegirl]

cant you just grab its head and body , and very quickly twist your hands in opposite directions???

[Lisa]

For quick, bloodless, painless killing I prefer CO2. It's not all that expensive to set up either. We use a bucket with a lid (we use a bucket that kitty litter comes in), so the bucket cost us nothing. For CO2 we use dry ice. dry ice is cheap. $1 a pound. thats a canadian dollar btw, and you don't need a whole pound to knock off alot of rats. it's not as convenient as a tank but it's cheap. now to quickly convert the dry ice into gas we use a deli cup with a hole in the lid filled with warm water. drop the ice in the water and instant fog made of CO2 this quickly pushes the warmer oxygen filled air out of the bucket (the lid isn't a 100% seal) and the rodents pass out quickly. I'm not sure how quickly the rats pass out but i tossed a mouse in after i was done doing the rats (so the air hadn't changed from CO2 to oxygen filled) and it managed 3 steps and then fell over. thats pretty quick if you ask me.

There is no room to mess up with CO2 either. if you don't whack or pull the rat right it will cause the rat pain, and twirling through the air for the last few seconds of death is probably not the nicest way to go (think of how freaked out you would be if you fell off a large building). If you don't use enough CO2 your rat won't feel a thing. it may not die but you won't cause it pain in the process.