-
Hello!
Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.
Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....
Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.
Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.
How do you cull mice?
- Thread starter Hutch
- Start date
You don't refridgerate or freeze them until they are dead. You can get them to dead several ways~ I usually recomend the CO2 method and put together a sheet explaining how to set it up here:
CO2 Chamber
Alternatley you can use cervical dislocation. This involves placing the rodent on a firm surface, placing the blade of a screw driver or pencil on the base of the skull and SWIFTLY yanking backwards and upwards on the tail. This takes some practice to do efficiently (as the mice are pretty sure they don't want you to do it) but is very effective and quick.
If all else fails put the mouse in with the snake. The snake will take care of the making it dead part himself.
CO2 Chamber
Alternatley you can use cervical dislocation. This involves placing the rodent on a firm surface, placing the blade of a screw driver or pencil on the base of the skull and SWIFTLY yanking backwards and upwards on the tail. This takes some practice to do efficiently (as the mice are pretty sure they don't want you to do it) but is very effective and quick.
If all else fails put the mouse in with the snake. The snake will take care of the making it dead part himself.
Glad it helped.
To answer your other question~ Yes. When a snake needs to be humanely euthanized it is often recommended that the snake be refridgerated to cause it to become unconscious and enter into a "torpid" state~ then into the freezer so it just never wakes up.
There is some controversy as to whether or not the snake actually remains conscious and feels the ice crystals forming. As far as I am aware the AVMA (American Veternary Medical Association) has not taken a stand one way or the other on the issue of euthanizing snakes in that manner (as far as I am aware~ but I could be wrong).
Currently CO2 Euthanasia is the AVMA recommended measure for rodents~ cervical dislocation is listed as an acceptable alternative.
~ Yes it is more difficult to do to adult rats~ I would not try it. Get some dry ice if you have too~ I have some BIG adult rats that I would not be willing to attempt to dislocate!!!
To answer your other question~ Yes. When a snake needs to be humanely euthanized it is often recommended that the snake be refridgerated to cause it to become unconscious and enter into a "torpid" state~ then into the freezer so it just never wakes up.
There is some controversy as to whether or not the snake actually remains conscious and feels the ice crystals forming. As far as I am aware the AVMA (American Veternary Medical Association) has not taken a stand one way or the other on the issue of euthanizing snakes in that manner (as far as I am aware~ but I could be wrong).
Currently CO2 Euthanasia is the AVMA recommended measure for rodents~ cervical dislocation is listed as an acceptable alternative.
~ Yes it is more difficult to do to adult rats~ I would not try it. Get some dry ice if you have too~ I have some BIG adult rats that I would not be willing to attempt to dislocate!!!
Sasheena
Addicted
For newborn pinks I just freeze them.
For anything with fur I either whack, dislocate, or gas them.
Whacking is easy for one or two... grab by the tail and slam down on a table or a wall, hitting the back of the skull... usually this breaks their little necks. Takes practice to get it right. Don't do this with juvie rats.... I did it once and the rat flew across the building and I was left holding just the tail sheath. I felt awful! (and my outdoor cats had nabbed the rat before it could get its bearings)
Dislocating I usually use a flat piece of metal (my mouse-house knife doubles for this task)... Usually the mouse or rat is sitting on the surface of the table, me holding their tail. I often have some treats on the table to try to distract the animal from the eventual doom. While they're munching, and I'm holding their tail, I try to quickly place the knife (blade not in contact with the animal) and jerk up and back... usually I hear and feel the CRUNCH of the successful procedure. Sometimes I don't. (I HATE that). I use this method when I can't get dry ice and have a lot of animals to "off".
Gassing. I find that Dry Ice is the best method for a mass execution. I buy between 1 and 4 pounds of dry ice. (1 pound is fine if I know what animals are being killed and have them ready).... I have a huge 40 gallon rubbermaid. I put some bricks in the bottom, and pour water in up to just below the level of the bricks. Toss in the dry ice so it's in the water, then after three or four minutes I place a critter keeper full of the doomed animals onto the bricks. Usually on it's side so that the gas will come in through the lid easily..... Within 10 or 30 seconds there is no movement inside the cage. I usually am setting up the next batch to go in and prepping my "freezing" materials so that I can process the ones in the "gas chamber". Note: I don't have a lid on my gas chamber, the CO2 is lighter than the surrounding air so does not escape the container. Once five minutes has gone by I pull out the one container and put in a fresh one full of live animals. By the time I have pulled out each animal, shaken off any substrate or animal waste, wrapped them in cellophane and thrown them into a larger ziploc baggie, the next batch is ready to go.
For anything with fur I either whack, dislocate, or gas them.
Whacking is easy for one or two... grab by the tail and slam down on a table or a wall, hitting the back of the skull... usually this breaks their little necks. Takes practice to get it right. Don't do this with juvie rats.... I did it once and the rat flew across the building and I was left holding just the tail sheath. I felt awful! (and my outdoor cats had nabbed the rat before it could get its bearings)
Dislocating I usually use a flat piece of metal (my mouse-house knife doubles for this task)... Usually the mouse or rat is sitting on the surface of the table, me holding their tail. I often have some treats on the table to try to distract the animal from the eventual doom. While they're munching, and I'm holding their tail, I try to quickly place the knife (blade not in contact with the animal) and jerk up and back... usually I hear and feel the CRUNCH of the successful procedure. Sometimes I don't. (I HATE that). I use this method when I can't get dry ice and have a lot of animals to "off".
Gassing. I find that Dry Ice is the best method for a mass execution. I buy between 1 and 4 pounds of dry ice. (1 pound is fine if I know what animals are being killed and have them ready).... I have a huge 40 gallon rubbermaid. I put some bricks in the bottom, and pour water in up to just below the level of the bricks. Toss in the dry ice so it's in the water, then after three or four minutes I place a critter keeper full of the doomed animals onto the bricks. Usually on it's side so that the gas will come in through the lid easily..... Within 10 or 30 seconds there is no movement inside the cage. I usually am setting up the next batch to go in and prepping my "freezing" materials so that I can process the ones in the "gas chamber". Note: I don't have a lid on my gas chamber, the CO2 is lighter than the surrounding air so does not escape the container. Once five minutes has gone by I pull out the one container and put in a fresh one full of live animals. By the time I have pulled out each animal, shaken off any substrate or animal waste, wrapped them in cellophane and thrown them into a larger ziploc baggie, the next batch is ready to go.
Quigs
"Got R Did"
In paintball terms, a "remote" is a hose (sometimes coiled) from the base of the gun to the co2 tank. Thus, allows you to wear the co2 tank on your side and lighten the load of the gun.~slither~ said:
It does have a regulator that attaches to the co2 bottle. This is how you open an close the gas flow.
The other end (usually, these days) is a quick connect adapter. I had a hole cut in an aquarium and fitted the 'male' end into the glass tank with a common plumbing fitting. This allows you to easily connect and then disconnect the gas line afterwards and makes storage a breeze.
Here's a couple pics of my setup...
'male' quick connect end mounted into the glass.
20oz. co2 bottle with 'remote' installed.
Just prior to connecting.
Connected...simple huh?
I gotta give Cheryl (aka JM) huge props on this design. My setup is slightly different from hers and her guide. But she was my inspiration and guide for doing so. Thank you so much, Cheryl! Cervical dislocation gets a bit old after the first 100 or so! :crazy02:
Quigs
"Got R Did"
Ahh, I don't know about better than yours, Cheryl. Without your idea, I'd have been up the creek without a paddle! Personally, I don't care much for the dry ice methods although there is a an ice house not far from here.
It is a 10 gallon aquarium. For a lid, I cut a piece of plexiglass to fit down inside the lip of the tank. Also drilled a 3/4 inch hole in one side of the plexi. That serves as a finger hole to lift the lid out with and also a gas exchange for the air to vent out.
So far so good, I haven't had any problems with gas bleeding excessively (not that I know of anyway). I have put down approx. 700-800 mice (everything from small hoppers thru jumbos) since I built it and it seems to be pretty effective. It's not taking a long time, although maybe I am wasting more gas than I need too. The c02 is cheap, readily available and sure as heck saves me a ton of time!
On a side note, I haven't had to fill my tanks since the big PraxAir explosions here in St. Louis last month. (Some may have heard about that on the news) PraxAir is the leading supplier of canned gas in this country and most of the co2 in this town comes from there! Prices may have gone up around here, beings it's at a premium right now.
Q
It is a 10 gallon aquarium. For a lid, I cut a piece of plexiglass to fit down inside the lip of the tank. Also drilled a 3/4 inch hole in one side of the plexi. That serves as a finger hole to lift the lid out with and also a gas exchange for the air to vent out.
So far so good, I haven't had any problems with gas bleeding excessively (not that I know of anyway). I have put down approx. 700-800 mice (everything from small hoppers thru jumbos) since I built it and it seems to be pretty effective. It's not taking a long time, although maybe I am wasting more gas than I need too. The c02 is cheap, readily available and sure as heck saves me a ton of time!
On a side note, I haven't had to fill my tanks since the big PraxAir explosions here in St. Louis last month. (Some may have heard about that on the news) PraxAir is the leading supplier of canned gas in this country and most of the co2 in this town comes from there! Prices may have gone up around here, beings it's at a premium right now.
Q