Feeder mice and the CO2 method

[Fishin Pole]

I have read quite a bit of the co2 discussions about killing feeder mice and am wondering a few things........Does the mouse inhaling the co2 have any effects on your snake if you directly feed the dead mouse to it?....Is there a certain time i should wait and let the mouse "gas off"?....I thought that the still warm mouse body would get a better feeding response from the hungry snake....or will it do more harm with it recently inhaling all the co2......I plan on using the vinegar & baking soda chamber method.............How do fellow members who breed their own food handle this?.... Any input is greatly appreciated....

 

[Sita]

The CO2 dissipates pretty quickly, so the amount that would be residual in the mouse's lungs would be so small as to have no effect on your snake. There is no danger in feeding it immediately.

I bought a small container from Walmart and drilled two holes into the top. I use a CO2 cartridge from a paintball gun and run the tube from the adapter into one of the holes, leaving the other open for air displacement. I prime the container for about 30 seconds with a slow flow (barely a hiss), then drop the mouse/rat in. They are unconscious within 2-3 seconds and dead within a minute. Done properly, I think it's the most humane way you can kill it. What you don't want to do is put the critter in, then introduce the CO2. I've found that they panic that way.

 

[SteveP]

I worked at a pork processing facility that used a CO2 gas flushed faris wheel o' death to put 10 pigs out at a time. It would load and unload every 10 seconds and the load you put in would drop out after 5 minutes. They were dead long before that though. As to your question I use the baking soda vinegar method and have never seen any ill effect but would also like to know what more senior members have to say on the subject.

 

[plomosa]

CO2

CO2 is not a poison gas. People exhale CO2 (although you obviously don't want to be stuck in a room with too much CO2). When you mix vinegar and baking soda, it makes CO2. Using a CO2 chamber with your own CO2 tank is very convenient compared to vinegar/baking soda, or dry ice. I bought my CO2 tank several years ago and have been using it ever since. It was a real time saver. It works well for putting down mice. I use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid that has a hole in the top for a tube. The tube feeds the CO2 from the tank. I bought the CO2 tank at WalMart in the sports section for paintball equipment. The initial cost was more expensive than vinegar and baking soda, but it is so much easier and your mice don't end up smelling like vinegar and baking soda. I feed freshly euthanized mice that are still warm to my snakes all the time. Nothing to worry about IMHO.

 

[Fishin Pole]

Thanks all for the advice, going with the CO2 tank when i can afford it ($30 for an empty tank at the local sporting goods store), for now the baking soda and vinegar will have to work.......

 

[Roxiedoodlebug]

I have a Ball Python that I raise rats for. I LOVe rats and have 9 that are pets. (I had them before my Python)
When I saw the frozen feeders at my local pet shop I knew there was NO way I could buy them! They were bloody and many had broken tails etc!
I use c02 to gas the rats that I am killing. I got a used canister for from a pawn shop, filled with c02 for around $30. I was able to do 5 batches of 10-14 small to medium sized rats with that.
I put the rats in and barely turn on the gas, just a wee little stream. They go to sleep in less than a minute, if they are gasping for air or panicking your stream of gas is too high. Once they are all sleeping you open the gas up, and they are dead in less than a minute. I put shaving in the bottom of the kill tank to soak up any pee so once dead they are ready to package nice and neat in freezer bags. I did feed one out right away, with no ill effects.
Best of luck.