I Tried It

[BigSam]

Ok it wasn't frozen but it was a pre killed mice. What I did was I put one in at a time in a small cage and shook it really hard. I'm talkin' bodybuilder strong hard. The mouse didn't die at first it just started to titch really hard and then it stopped moving so I assumed that it was dead. She was kinda scared at first,but she ate it when she eat it she also wrapped around it, do they do that or was the mouse still breathing. My big ball python(Pablo) he is a straight up pig ;P he didn't care that it was already dead.

I thought that it would be harder to kill them, It only took three hard shakes to kill them.

 

[Weapon-X]

re

thats not a good way to kill em man, sounds painful, heres a good method, pick up the mouse by the tail so it can't bite you, then proceed to smack the back of its neck or head on the cornr of a table it should only take one swift whack(of cousre it will twitch and what not, nerves) if it dos'nt die at fisrt your not doing it hard enough--Jeff

 

[genious_gr]

re

That sounds painfull as well. I'm not a snake expert but I've heard of another method that sounds good. Grab the mouse from the tail and use the other hand to grab its head. Then pull the tail with some power. This will cause the backbone to brake and the mouse will be dead before you know it.

 

[Devildoll]

if you are worried about pain, make a CO2 chamber.

There are directions all over on the I-net

 

[Bry]

First of all, I'm glad you at least tried killing the mice first. That wasn't so bad now, was it? Yes, snakes will still wrap a mouse, even if it is clearly dead. Some snakes will, and some snakes won't.

Secondly, for your killing method, I agree with the others, that does sound a bit painful, even though it was over in just three shakes. Why not make it as quick and painless as possible? The mouse-in-bag method I recommended earlier usually takes one whack, sometimes two, but no more than that.

I'm just curious, what is it that bothers you so much about frozen mice? You seem to be avoiding it like the black plague. Either way, I'm glad you at least tried the pre-killed method. So, I have a question for you. Are you going to stick with it?

Bry

 

[Gillian]

Sam,
Bravo! True, as Bry said, snakes will still wrap it. All but my Corn Snake wrap it. (then again, cornies are PIGS) When I worked at the petshop in town, I had to prekill the mice for the Hognose we had. I used to brin a pillowcase to work with me. I'd place the mouse in the pillowcase, swing it over my head, then whack it.

Sort of like a human hitting a wall..Still good job. Are you catching flack for maybe keeping dead animals in the freezer? Just curious. As for me, my parents have a large freezer, they said I can use. All they asked was that I put a red circle on the box, and keep it sealed. Where I get my rodents, each single one is sealed in its own bag.

Peace,
Gillian

 

[rapunzel]

how we kill in the lab:

Place mouse on table, firmly holding base of tail.

Using a pencil longways or similar object, pin the head of mouse down, at the base of the skull/where the neck starts.

HOLD IT DOWN FIRMLY.
In one swift motion,
pull the base of tail downwards toward you then over and up so that you bring the rearend of the mouse over its head.

Keep the neck pinned down firmly the whole time.

This snaps the neck..seperates it from the skull, mouse dies instantly, no suffering, no blood, nothing gross at all.
This method has been approved by the AWA (animal welfare act) as a humane method.

I have a problem killing, so it is hard for me to do, but if I have to kill a mouse, that is the way I do it.

 

[BigSam]

sounds painfull

sounds painfull for who the snake or the mouse? If your talking about the mouse, in all honesty who cares. He died didn't he? Feeding live sounds more painfull for the mouse doesn't it.

Really it wasn't that bad, I thought that it would be harder to kill the mouse, and more of something esle.

Bry, If I did go frozen could I kill the mouse like this and double bag him and throw him in the freezer or do I do it differently? I think I don't like frozen because the thawing out part, that sounds grose. I don't know because I have never tried it but sounds like it. It was really easy and fast to do it I think i will continue to do it.

 

[rapunzel]

Re: sounds painfull

Originally posted by BigSam
sounds painfull for who the snake or the mouse? If your talking about the mouse, in all honesty who cares. He died didn't he?

um, the mouse cares.
Swift death is more HUMANE than a traumatic death.

I don't want to be involved in a huge debate over why we should care, but I think everyone was just trying to give you alternative methods to use, that are not only less traumatic for the mouse (even the smallest critters deserve humane treatment) but is also QUICKER to do.


Kim

 

[Wade]

I have been keeping reptiles for about 15-16 years and have used a variety of methods to kill mice (incuding wacking them over a table edge etc.), but for the last 5 I've been using the exact method Kim described (although I use a screwdriver). IMO, it is by far the easiest, least messy and most humane way to kill a mouse. I kill somewhere between 20 and 60 mice a week this way. Although I don't loose any sleep over the mice, I don't want to cause them any neddless aditional suffering either.

Wade

 

[genious_gr]

Re: sounds painfull

Originally posted by BigSam
sounds painfull for who the snake or the mouse? If your talking about the mouse, in all honesty who cares. He died didn't he? Feeding live sounds more painfull for the mouse doesn't it.

As a guy once told me (I said sth like that for a cricket [It was a misunderstanding actually]), you have to respect the pray. They give their life to preserve another one. You just cant say that so light-hearted. They are animals like your snake and should be treated fairly and ubder the best possible conditions untill their death which should be as painless as possible.

 

[skinheaddave]

I find a good way to kill them is to actualy just grab them so that you can feel their spine and then just pinch and twist. You can actualy feel the vertebrae seperating. I have never had any problems with this method. That being said, I buy frozen in bulk, so I haven't had to kill many rodents.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Gillian]

Re: sounds painfull

Originally posted by BigSam
sounds painfull for who the snake or the mouse? If your talking about the mouse, in all honesty who cares. He died didn't he? Feeding live sounds more painfull for the mouse doesn't it.

Really it wasn't that bad, I thought that it would be harder to kill the mouse, and more of something esle.

*shakes head*
I may not particularly care for certain animals, but jeez. I for one, do care, about how animals I use for food are dispatched. Its rather like being in a carnival ride, and your safety belt comes loose. Instead of enjoying the ride, you're beaten to death.

Or, more graphically; you're in a car wreck, with no seatbelt on. Your car rolls several times, and you are thrown all over its interior.

You know what? I wash my hands of this thread..
Peace,
Gillian

 

[atavuss]

if I can add my two cents here, I usually use a plastic freezer type bag and put the rodent inside the bag and zip the bag closed then I whack the bag against a tabletop, then you can turn the rodent bag inside out in the enclosure. this way you don't end up with any feces, urine, or blood on carpeting or anything else, I have never had a rodent bite me with this method either.
Ed

 

[MrT]

Re: sounds painfull

Originally posted by BigSam
sounds painfull for who the snake or the mouse? If your talking about the mouse, in all honesty who cares. He died didn't he? Feeding live sounds more painfull for the mouse doesn't it.

BigSam,
Don't beat the mouse to death. Just cleanly break its neck.
If you not sure how, I can meet you at your house, or you can come over here and I'll show you.

As to who cares.... I DO..
What are you thinking Bro ?

Ernie

 

[BigSam]

What are you doing here

First things first welcome to the herp form, I never see you in here, By the way what are you doing away from the tarantulas form and giving people help.

I know you have a boa, what kind of mice do you feed it, live or frozen or pre killed??

I think I will need you to show me how to do it right.

Hey Ernie one more thing I didn't know you had a soft side =D hahaha I'm just kiding.

Sam,

 

[MrT]

Re: What are you doing here

Originally posted by BigSam
First things first welcome to the herp form, I never see you in here, By the way what are you doing away from the tarantulas form and giving people help.

I know you have a boa, what kind of mice do you feed it, live or frozen or pre killed??

I think I will need you to show me how to do it right.

Hey Ernie one more thing I didn't know you had a soft side =D hahaha I'm just kiding.

Sam,

Sam,
I'm a old softy at heart..
We feed the Redtail mostly frozen, If we get it at Pets Inc.
If we buy from Predators we get live and kill em here. Break its neck. We never feed it live. I heard it will make the snake mean. Plus I don't want the snake to get a nasty bite. BTW, we're feeding rats.

Ernie

 

[Reitz]

A little preface, please don't flame me for feeding live, I didn't know any better back then, it was a mistake, and I'm glad my snake never got injured . . .

About 6 years ago I had a boa. It got sick and I had to pre-kill the prey (other wise I fed live). My method was to take a ruler, place the 'sharp' edge (by that I mean not the flat part but the side) behind the base of the mouse's head and push hard and quick. The mouse always died instantly and, as far as I could tell, without too much pain. Maybe that would work for you.

Chris

 

[Ultimate Instar]

There are a few problems with killing mice yourself.

1) The mouse may angle it's head around and bite you.

2) If you grab the mouse by the tail, the skin may slip off in your hand. This is somewhat disgusting.

3) The mouse may bleed/urinate/defecate. If you use the grab-the-tail, hit-the-mouse-against-the hard-object method, you may need to do it more than once. If that happens, you can get blood on your walls from the second swing.

Using frozen mice is the most convenient way to go, and often it is less expensive. Of course, some snakes may be quite picky and you have no choice but to use live prey. I admit, however, that a snake attacking live prey is a true marvel of nature. If you think about it, there's tremendous speed, strength and dexterity involved.

Karen N.