# gassing mice?



## JAM3S (Jan 17, 2007)

hi all, the numbers of my breeder mice are increasing so i have made the decision to carry on with it hopefully selling some to my local pet shop and obviously keeping some for the snakes.

i cant bring myself to snap their little necks or whack them against a table (obviously getting too soft..lol) so that leaves me with gassing. Does anyone know where to get a rodent reaper or could anyone advise me of a homemade setup i could build for this job? i know ppl will say "you should have thought about it before starting to breed them" but TBO i didnt think they would be so cute..lol


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## bribrian (Jan 12, 2006)

Adapt this to suit......










Mine that i made....


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## sparky (Dec 20, 2006)

have a look at this...
Ball-Pythons.net Forums - Feeder Euthanasia the Easy Way, and Humane too...


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Honestly, there's nothing "soft" about wanting to euthanise your feeder mice in the most humane way.

CO2 gas should ideally be bought in canister form - you can't completely control the reaction of bicarb and vinegar to be sure you've got the right proportions, and the smell might stress out the mice - or put the snakes off eating it.

I use a welding CO2 canister with a vent into the bottom of a plastic tub, and the lid of the tub has a vent for normal air to escape.


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## Dirtydozen (Feb 7, 2007)

You got a pic of yours mate coz i wanna use the same method using welding bottle and co2


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## emilou (Jan 10, 2007)

AHHHH i couldnt have the heart to kill anything cute like mice, id prefer to buy them already dead at pet shop if i had to.


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## poshweiller (Nov 17, 2006)

we use the baking soda/vinegar method but find that the mice bleed at the nose,is this right or we doing something wrong?also this method doesn`t work very well with newborn pinkies so we tub them and freeze them,i hate doing it so i get the oh to do it.


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## JAM3S (Jan 17, 2007)

thanks for all the great ideas : victory:


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## Dan (Jan 11, 2006)

The bleeding at the nose is a sign that too much co2is entering the chamber while they are conscious.

The maximum ratios you are looking for are, 20% to cause the subject to sleep and 70%+ to kill the subject.

Any more than 20% and the animal will feel itself choking, a sign is bleeding from the nose.

I agree completely with Ssthisto. The best, most humane way to do it is to use a regulated form of co2.


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## Dirtydozen (Feb 7, 2007)

How do you regulate the amount of co2


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## Dan (Jan 11, 2006)

Get a regulator for the co2 bottle and ensure that your chamber has a gauge on it.


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## 1949_sam (Jan 21, 2007)

Ssthisto said:


> Honestly, there's nothing "soft" about wanting to euthanise your feeder mice in the most humane way.
> 
> CO2 gas should ideally be bought in canister form - you can't completely control the reaction of bicarb and vinegar to be sure you've got the right proportions, and the smell might stress out the mice - or put the snakes off eating it.
> 
> I use a welding CO2 canister with a vent into the bottom of a plastic tub, and the lid of the tub has a vent for normal air to escape.


 
*could you put some pics up as i've just started breeding mouse/rats and i'd like some info and can you even buy dry ice? *


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## Dan (Jan 11, 2006)

Yes you can indeed buy dry ice.
This is not a great way to do it though.
You have the problem of being unable to regulate the amount entering the chamber and you also have to pay each time you want some delivered as to be stored it needs to be held in an environment colder than your freezer for longer periods.


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## eddygecko (Feb 14, 2007)

Only browsing this really and probably not a very serious idea but how about putting them in a little plastic cub with a lid and no air holes and letting them suffocate?:lol2: Or just get out the blender.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

eddygecko said:


> Only browsing this really and probably not a very serious idea but how about putting them in a little plastic cub with a lid and no air holes and letting them suffocate?:lol2: Or just get out the blender.


Suffocation would take a very long time. Each breath would only remove about 8% of the oxygen in ONE breath.... and it wouldn't generate much more CO2.

I won't even try picturing the blender.


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## emilou (Jan 10, 2007)

eddygecko said:


> Only browsing this really and probably not a very serious idea but how about putting them in a little plastic cub with a lid and no air holes and letting them suffocate?:lol2: Or just get out the blender.


how evil would that be, would you like to die that way!!!!!!!!


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

eddygecko said:


> Only browsing this really and probably not a very serious idea but how about putting them in a little plastic cub with a lid and no air holes and letting them suffocate?:lol2: Or just get out the blender.


The blender method kinda stuffs the whole "feeding whole prey" option (good idea with dead ones if you need to liquidise for a pinky pump, just don't expect to ever get the smell of rodent out!), the cup and no air-holes option....... if you did this and got caught, you'd be looking down the barrel of a cruelty case with very little chance of winning. CO2 gassing or Spinal dislocation are the most humane and quickest methods available really.


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## kiriak (Feb 10, 2006)

Can you not just get a bottle of ether from the chemist? Put the mice in an airtight container with some ether on a lump of cotton wool. This will knock them out. *Leave* them in the airtight container and Roberts you Fathers Brother :thumb:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Ether is toxic.

What euthanises your mice could euthanise your snake.

CO2 is safe because it's a natural byproduct which is toxic in unnatural quantities WHILE it is being inhaled; Ether is toxic and doesn't stop being toxic once the animal you intended to kill is dead.


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## kiriak (Feb 10, 2006)

Ssthisto said:


> Ether is toxic.
> 
> What euthanises your mice could euthanise your snake.
> 
> CO2 is safe because it's a natural byproduct which is toxic in unnatural quantities WHILE it is being inhaled; Ether is toxic and doesn't stop being toxic once the animal you intended to kill is dead.


That'll be no to ether then :icon_redface:


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