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Animal_gal said:
i guess it's never occurred to me to ask how PET STORES kill their mice

it seems very likely that they just toss the mice in the freezer. but no matter how the mice get frozen, buying frozen mice from a pet store is no more humane than freezing them yourself.

and no matter how it's killed, the mouse is going to go through a good amount of pain when it dies. plus the confusion and fear that it experiences if you feed it live.

owning a snake involves accepting that they eat mice, which involves accepting that at least one mouse will die at least once every week or two by your own hand (even if you bought it dead, you're contributing), which involves accepting that the mouse will feel some sort of pain.
****Amen****
 
Well I'm sure we all realize for our snakes to live other things have to die.

All most of us are saying is there's no reason to put it in more pain if we can find a reasonable way to put it in less.

Damn us for caring :grin01:
 
I know, and you're right. I don't mean to sound cold hearted, but that's how I view the death of mice. Or the death of anything for that matter. It's pretty much going to be confusing, frightening, and more than likely very painful.

I never liked mice. At all.
But there are a lot of people that love mice, that see mice as companions and pets. I sympathize because I love snakes and see them as companions and pets. Most people don't like snakes. (okay, not most people here obviously. but you get the point.) Those people would gladly condemn a snake to death for no apparant reason.


I think it's easier for me to say "kill the mouse" not because I don't like mice, but because I need to feed my snake. If I didn't have a snake, I wouldn't play games that involve finding the most painful ways to murder mice. Actually I wouldn't associate with mice at all.
But since I have a snake, it's inevitable--a mouse must die. I agree that it should be fairly humane (no crucifying your mice), but no matter what you do it will be painful in some way.
As long as it's remotely humane, I can't see how it really matters how the mouse dies.

I try to look at mice as food. Others look at them as innocent animals. It's a hard thing to tell the difference, and things like this will always be a major conflict. But it's the circle of life and either way the mouse has gotta go in order to save my snake.
 
Koperr said:
I went to the local pet store to buy fuzzy mice for my corn snake. I asked for frozen, I took it home and I noticed rustling inside the bag.. They gave me live mice! Should I freeze them? I can't take them back, either.
Next time, put them in a paper bag. Start your car engine, then place the top of the bag around the tailpipe. The mice should be dead from carbon monoxide within thirty seconds.
 
No, mice do NOT have to die a painful death, if they are killed properly with CO2 they just pass out and die while unconscious. If the CO2 is introduced slowly enough they will feel little or no discomfort.

Just because we are killing mice regularly to feed our snakes is no excuse to torture them or carelessly force them to die a slow, lingering and horribly painful death, because we are too squeamish to do it properly and just "toss them in the freezer" so we don't have to think about it.

If a store killed feeders by freezing them alive I would never buy from that store again. Good feeder breeders use CO2 to gas them humanely.
 
Flagg said:
No, mice do NOT have to die a painful death, if they are killed properly with CO2 they just pass out and die while unconscious. If the CO2 is introduced slowly enough they will feel little or no discomfort.

Just because we are killing mice regularly to feed our snakes is no excuse to torture them or carelessly force them to die a slow, lingering and horribly painful death, because we are too squeamish to do it properly and just "toss them in the freezer" so we don't have to think about it.

If a store killed feeders by freezing them alive I would never buy from that store again. Good feeder breeders use CO2 to gas them humanely.
Since everyone wants to argue the fact that co2 is so humane, try looking at some of these orgish, or ernies house sites, search gassing and see if you really think that co2 is so painless.
 
Hypothermia basics for all to consider...

When hypothermia sets in...most times the victim is only cold for a couple minutes...not a prolonged period. The next thing to happen is sleep. I think it's nature's way of allowing the body to shut down and die but not from a conscious state, so there is no awareness that death is emminent. This is why hypothermia is so dangerous. It's also why it has become one of the more popular ways to committ suicide...even at one point being endorsed by the Hemlock Society.
My back ground is not medical but sociological but still I would think that the same process will hold true for any mammal that is non furred (ie:baby mice).
Anyway I had to throw my 2 cents in.
 
bigjerm said:
Since everyone wants to argue the fact that co2 is so humane, try looking at some of these orgish, or ernies house sites, search gassing and see if you really think that co2 is so painless.


Slow gassing with CO2 just knocks them out. WHatever else you are talking about I have no idea,
 
jaxom1957 said:
Next time, put them in a paper bag. Start your car engine, then place the top of the bag around the tailpipe. The mice should be dead from carbon monoxide within thirty seconds.

Huh. I can't believe that never occurred to me.
Maybe this is stupid but I'd be scared to feed a mouse killed with carbon monoxide to my snake though.
 
Animal_gal said:
Huh. I can't believe that never occurred to me.
Maybe this is stupid but I'd be scared to feed a mouse killed with carbon monoxide to my snake though.
Carbon monoxide is not harmful when ingested, only when inhaled. The snake isn't at any risk.
 
I am sure many petshops freeze their mice live, in fact, I bought some frozen adult mice from a petstore once that were CLEARLY frozen live...I was so horrified, I have never bought from them again!

I made SURE that my current supplier kills humanely before freezing. I am also breeding my own mice now and freezing myself, my methods are as quick and painless as possible. I would certainly never even think of freezing them live!!! It's exceptionally painful and cruel!

My opinion is that if you want to be a snake owner, you have to realise that you may have to deal with live prey at some stage or other...

It's only recently that I have been able to get frozen mice and so I have been whacking mice for years now, maybe I'm just used to it...
 
As far as the mice-icles go,I wouldn't do it that way.I'm sure they would suffer more than from a whack on the head.But,anyone who whacks them has had one they had to hit more than once or one that flopped around awhile.That has to suck,having your skull cracked and living awhile!!!Gassing them is probably the most humane,but they still have to die so how humane is it?I'm sure there are people out there who think that all mice should be allowed to live a long and productive life and we are inhumane for feeding them to our snakes.She couldn't stomach whacking them,so she froze them,oh well :shrugs: .Real life and nature is hard,unfair and sometimes cruel!!!,it's not a big Disney movie like some people think. She asked for the "right" way to kill them now and I doubt she'll freeze anymore.By the way,I've been inside a slaughter house before and believe me it wasn't very humane.Put a big T-bone with mushrooms and onions down in front of me and I forget all about the slaughter house! :licklips:
 
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