Killing rodents?

[Wizwise2000]

Whacked a hopper today and since I've been handling the little ones, I didn't like it. Today I was told by my brother inlaw to use pure oxygen to kill rodents instead of Co2. Anyone use this method or have any comments concerning oxygen?

Thanks
Shane

[Cruciform]

It will kill them eventually, but you'd be better off sticking to CO2.
Pure oxygen is toxic, but at sea level it takes a while (days in humans) to kick in. If you were scuba diving, the deeper you were the more immediate the danger would be. They have special blends of lowered oxygen content, as well as replacing nitrogen with helium to prevent nitrogen narcosis (the bends).

CO would be even more efficient than CO2 because it is more readily absorbed into the bloodstream than oxygen, but CO2 is easier to get and painless.

[sapphire_moon]

much easier to get, go to your local paint store and ask them for a remote and a canister of co2.
At my local place it is only 30cents an ounce to refil it. Don't know if that is good or bad, but it seems pretty cheap to me.

[mykee]

Whatever method causes the least amount of pain in ultimately providing our snakes with food. It's our responsibility as reptile owners.

[Wizwise2000]

CO scares me, never used it but I've heard bad things. To set up a gas chamber for rodents what would I need and how do I build it? Any links or anything to show something like this? Also, how long does it take to kill them?

Thanks
Shane

[Lrptls]

why dont you just get frozen food at the pet store or order it? you can stock up, dont have to kill any thing, its safer for the animals cause it kills off any parasites...

[Lisa]

For my Dry Ice set up (makes CO2) I use a garbage can, a deli cup with holes in the lid, some hot water and dry ice. I get the dry ice from praxair, often for free. it's a dollar per pound if I pay.

I take the rats, put them in the garbage can. I take the deli cup, fill it with hot water, add dry ice, close the lid and place in the garbage can. the dry ice in hot water makes a CO2 fog that slowly intermixes with the air in the garbage can causing the rodents to go to sleep and then die of oxygen deprivation.

I find the fog allows the air mixture to slowly get stronger with CO2 and then overpower the rats instead of just tossing them into a strong mixture of CO2 (which can cause the rats to panic and gasp for air cause they just never get enough oxigen off the bat).

I come back in 15 minutes to half an hour (this is a good time to clean cages) and package the rats for freezing.

Hope this helps.

Oh ya, be careful with the dry ice and the CO2 it generates. It can kill you or any other oxygen breathing creature like it killed the rats, and you won't even notice, you'll just feel tired.
If you have left over CO2 try to dispose of it safely.

[Gregg M]

I either break their necks or let my snakes do the dirty work....... I am a lover of all animals....... Even rats...... I want to do it the quickest way possible so the breaking of the neck is the most humane way to me........

[crazyboy]

get a pellet pistol.

[Lisa]

Originally posted by crazyboy
get a pellet pistol.

{sarcasm}
There's a great idea, put lead shot into the food items for your snakes.... so either you give your snake food poisoning or you have to dig out a piece of lead from the rat - sounds like fun.
{/sarcasm}

[Wizwise2000]

Scared to use CO2 now.

Cheers
Shane

[snakeylesnake]

co2 is fine to use. but because its heavier than the air we breath, it will sink to the floor if it escapes. so dont do ur laces up if you think it is leaking. the gas chambers i use are made from heavy duty rubbermaids and the tube that feeds th co2 in is insulated with tape to ensure an airtight fit. once i have the right number of rats in the chamber (depends on size of rat) the gas is turned on for about 15 - 20 seconds. it will usually render them unconscious within 10 secs. after a bit of natural reflexes they stop moving and are safe to take out and freeze or feed. always male sure they are dead, i know that sounds stupid but ive had one or two that i thought were dead only to come alive in the bag. not very nice to be surrounded by dead siblings. like other people have said, even though they are food, doesn't mean they have to be maltreated.
cheers
paul

[sapphire_moon]

It's not hard, and not scary.

You need a remote and a co2 canister. The quickest easiest thing to do is.

Do it outside or in an open area.

Attach the remote to the canister, put the hose in a rubbermaid, put the rats in, cover the rubbermaid with the lid (it won't go on all the way, but that should be fine.)
Add rats, turn on canister.

or if you want, put a small hole in the side of the rubbermaid, put the hose in the small hole, apply some sort of seal, like aquarium sealant, or something like that.

Then put another hole on the top of the lid.

I'm not sure how the last idea would work, I only seen it set up. I didn't see it in use.

I hope to get a set up in a couple of weeks to do some rats in.

[M_surinamensis]

Not sure if it matters much but I personally agree with Gregg... Quickly breaking the neck has always seemed to be the quickest way and quite humane.

Might be a time thing... Gassing feeder rodents was virtually unheard of for a hobbiest when I was new to herp ownership. Learning how to quickly and cleanly break the necks was the humane alternative to whacking the rodent off a wall or the floor... Breaking the neck has worked for decades though and done properly the rodent is dead before it even realizes what's happening.

[snakeylesnake]

i remember reading in books that the easiest way to kill rodents was to insert a needle into the spinal column. but because we can now humanely gas them more humanely i think that any other method is inhumane. greg maxwell states in his chondro book that he kills his feeders by starving them of oxygen. not very nice is it? big time breeder, small time humitarian
cheers
paul