How do you kill?

[OttawaChris]

I was thinking of breeding a batch of mice for myself (fall is a busy month for molting spiders in my place and I like to feed pinks to a freshly molted tarantula to fatten them up)

I was thinking of preparing ahead of time and getting a pair of mice... how do you guys kill the babies humanely? I was thinking just put them in the freezer.

[snakemann87]

That would be inhumanely! lol theyd freeze SLOWLY!!!!! THe most humane way is a gas changer or something?? But i wil just whack mine.......or place a ruler behind the neck and pull up on the tail.

How much is a gas chamber or w/e it is to kill mice/rats? Im curious

[reverendsterlin]

a little sealing 5 gallon bucket and a piece of dry ice are pretty cheap lol

[snakemann87]

Dry ice?? please explain lol

[reverendsterlin]

dry ice is frozen co2, a piece in a small bit of water in a bucket(small hole in top so it doesn't explode off with some force) and all animals go nite nite and never wake up, a cheap easy gas chamber

[vanderkm]

Freezing is not humane and CO2 is a good method - but pinkies do take a long time to die relative to larger mice - but works well for people who don't like a hands on approach. Using something to break the neck in pinkies and fuzzies often results in separating the head from the body because they are so soft.

I prefer to snap pinkies and fuzzie mice on the base of the skull - just like when you flick your finger off your thumb - hard to explain but easy for someone to demonstrate for you. Basically hold the pinky by the hips in you left hand, then put your right middle fingernail against the underside of your right thumb and snap it forward - directing the nail of your finger at the base of the mouse's skull - not too hard for pinkies or you will break the skull open. You will see a large dark bruise develop indicating that the animal's brain has been severely traumatized - enough to render it unconscious. They will kick for a while as a result of massive nerve stimulation, but this is a humane method - renders then unconscious and unable to feel pain. It is also fast and efficient.

Better option than dealing with the smell and work of raising mice is to buy a couple packs of pre-frozen - maybe share a bulk order with a friend to cut costs. Definately the way to go -

mary v.

[Linds]

I pinch their heads. Little brain leaks out the nose but not bad. Wacking is my preferred method for larger mice and for rats, but there is too fine a line between maming and exploding at that size :rolleyes:

[MouseKilla]

For pinkies I just bonk them on the head and toss them in the freezer.

[Steele]

I bilt a gas chamber I use viniger and baking soda to make the gas the parts cost like 10$ and I can kill like 20 rat pups at a time

[MouseKilla]

Vinegar and baking soda? Seriously?

[Invictus]

Yeah....?????? I didn't know that caused CO2 gas, or at least not enough of it to kill. I know it effervesces like crazy though. :)

[daver676]

DAMMIT!! There was a link in here somewhere on how to build a vinegar and baking soda gas chamber. I think Lisa posted the link, but I can't find the post. Anyways, yes, the gas released by combining baking soda and vinegar is CO2. I think you need 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda per cup of vinegar. And there is some kind of formula for the size of container the gas will go into....Hopfully someone will have more luck finding that post than I did.

[Linds]

Originally posted by Invictus
I know it effervesces like crazy though. :)

*thinks back to those volcanoes we used to make as kids in school* :p

[Batdad]

Hey Steele, can you give us a little more details on this. I am interested as CO2 is expensive to set up and I cannot get dry ice where I live.

Thanks
Bruce

[Lisa]

Wasn't me that posted how to do it with baking soda, I use Dry Ice and a some what sealing bucket... I did post that, i'm sure you could adapt that to vinegar.

[Steele]

you need 4 16oz cup stake 2 ontop of eche other 4 feet 0f 1/2inch hose some 1/2 inch dowle a small ruber made dont get the air tight one air needs to get out drill a hole in the bottom of the top cup and plug it whith the dowel drill a 1/2 inch hole near the top of the bttom cup and seal the hose in ther. run the hose from the fist set of cups all the way through to the other side of the rubbermaid plug the end of that hose and poke lots of little holes in it.then the other set of cups run the hose to the bottom of th rubbermade just poke it in. the first cupps are to put them to sleep the other is the kill.This was disined to kill a 10 pound dog or cat so you might whant to chang the mix or kill lots of rat pups at one. put 4 tsb in the bottom cup and one cup of viniger in the top cup pull the plug in the cups going to the top they go tosleep pull the plug in cupnumber 2 and ther you go snake food.

[Steele]

ps I am sorry it looks like a 2 year old typed this Spelling and grammer are not my thing so fell free to pm me for a translation
STEELE

[KingFfaj]

could u make a pic in "paint" or somthing?

[RepTylE]

I was going to post a topic to find out about this very thing. Thanks for the info.

[MouseKilla]

I remember making wine bottle rifles with vinegar and baking soda but I didn't realize it was generating CO2. I must admit that I can't quite picture the set up described there though. I get some sort of cross between a complex smoking device made by some high school burn out and a set of soup can phones that kids would make. Anyone wanna build one, take a picture and post it?? Don't ask for much do I? LOL!

[Steele]

I have one bilt it was bilt by a hischool burn out I just cant get my picture file small so i can post it

[Batdad]

I built one and tested it. Worked fine. I'll get my crap together and post something in the next couple of days.

Bruce

[MouseKilla]

Sweet. I bonk anything that is big enough to bite but when you're trying to feed 6-8 snakes at a time plus bonking and bagging 30 + prey items it gets a little time consuming. I know a lot of others around here have it a lot worse than I but it would be nice to speed things up with good, cheap and easy mass killing technique, especially since I'm only just getting started with our collection.

[Nic]

this is what steele has built...i hope it gives you an idea.

[MouseKilla]

So I assume that the little victims go in the large container in the centre and the areas marked there with "drill small holes" are hoses? Also I guess you pull out the objects in the cones to allow the baking soda and vinegar to mix and activate the device? Is the large container ventilated at all to prevent the build up of pressure?

[snakehunter]

i just take a pair a needle nose pliers, and crush their spinal chord at the base of the skull. they dont seem to feel anything, they just flop around for a second.

[daver676]

FINALLY FOUND IT! Heres the link to the vinegar and baking soda gas chamber:

KILL 'EM ALL! (http://personal.riverusers.com/~busybee/euthanasia.htm)

Dave

[MouseKilla]

Dave,

That was one weird site man. This guy, who says he hasn't needed to use this went and researched how to do it then caught a few mice in his basement or something and tested it on them. OK. I'm gonna give it a shot I think, sounds easier if it would be possible to do a batch of them all in one go. I wonder how densely you could fill the death chamber with rodents.

[Batdad]

Originally posted by snakehunter
i just take a pair a needle nose pliers, and crush their spinal chord at the base of the skull. they dont seem to feel anything, they just flop around for a second.

Crude but effective:rolleyes:

[daver676]

Not sure about the amount of rodents to put in the chamber, but if it was me, I'd try to get the most bang for my buck! ;)

Dave

[MouseKilla]

That's the way I see it. If there any are survivors there is always the Bonk-o-Matic 3000 (a.k.a. the block of wood). One way or the other the result will be the same.

[Batdad]

OK as promised, here is a link to what I put together, I haven’t figure out how to post the pics etc. so I put together a page. I have used this CO2 Chamber on mice with no problems and don’t foresee any problems with rats. I’ll keep you posted if I do have any problems as I have some that will be hoppers in the next week or so and will be about the right size for my BP’s:D. I got a lot of the info required from the page that Dave posted earlier but took out some of the touchy feely feel good stuff because I am not overly concerned about the preys’ emotional well being (don’t want them freaked but they don’t need to know they are loved either);). The whole thing cost about $5 CDN to put together plus some bits and pieces lying around the house and is cheap and easy to use (2cups of vinegar & 3 tbsp of baking soda per run).

The CO2 Chamber (http://www3.telus.net/frnstrom/CO2%20Chamber/The_CO2_Chamber.htm)

Any questions or problems ask away or PM me

Bruce

P.S. I am going to post this to a new thread for those haven’t been following this thread but may be interested

[Steele]

I think from my test runs that it might allmost be beter to pack them in so ther is less air left in the kill chaber.if not put in a blok of wood or something and take up some displacment.

[Emily-Fisher]

I just grab mine by the tail and whack their heads hard against an edge. Boom! Instant death!

[Wuntu Menny]

Em, that's incredibly cold for one so young! Where do you go to school, Jeffrey Dahmer Memorial? LOL

WM

[mark129er]

pillowcase + stool+ inertia=humane kill

[liltattyprinces]

I really like the gas chamber idea, gonna e-mail my dad that web page so he can take a look and build me one, i like that fact that it is so quick and easy less time consuming than my current wacking method although i'm just getting into breeding my own mice and rats much appericated Batdad
Laura-Lee

[mykee]

I wait in the alley, behind a dumpster............

[Batdad]

Mykee, what are You doing while waiting :grab: or :bounce: ;)

[mykee]

Batdad .......????? Reading the complete unabridged works of Edgar Allan Poe.