Rat Breeding and Euthanasia

[Crocodylus78]

So out of curiosity, and no it didn't kill the cat.... my python did! :lol: lol I am wondering who on here breeds their own rats for food and what method they use to euthanize them if they do at all?

 

[Scleropages]

Me. Co2

 

[najanaja]

im old school...

Pinkies into the freezer and adults get a whack before their straight to the pythons

 

[pisces20]

co2, pinkies in freezer as co2 doesnt kill them. I breed close to 500 per month. In the states many bag them but thats cruel

 

[Jen]

IMO, the easiest and most humane way to kill a pinky is to squeeze very hard just at the neck joint, severing the spinal cord and crushing the brain. This is how I was taught to do it by a vet in the vivarium (mouse house) where I worked, I killed literally thousands of pinkies (mice admittedly) this way. CO2 is great for large numbers, but if breeding just for yourself, cervical dislocation is free and easy to learn.

 

[JAS101]

i breed rats and mice , all get the severing the spinal cord tretment . its a very quick way , a pair of forceps behind the back of the head[ neck joint ] and give it a quick squeeze .

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

it is actually illegal to freeze any animals,i studied euthanasia as a subject and cervical dislocation is the standard procedure followed by Co2 as the second prefered method.
I also had to teach euthanasia to tafe and uni students so i had to be very aware of the correct procedures and freezing is banned,it is just lazy way of doing it,. If we breed animals for food the least we can do is to give them a humane method of death freezing has been studied and proven to be inhumane

 

[Airlie]

You can drown them... your snake won't care how they died.

 

[saximus]

You can drown them... your snake won't care how they died.

Animal welfare might though.

There's a sticky about building a euthanasia chamber in the forums. From the numerous threads that have come before about this it seems most people use this or CD. Speaking of which how is that video coming along Jen

 

[Jen]

er, yeah, give me a little while. I am only breeding a few mice, so getting sizes and numbers - and filming by myself lol - will take awhile. Will be home in March and have my sisters mice to play with and a camerawoman then too. Be patient, it will come...

 

[longqi]

Snakepimp
The only two ways permitted by the EPA in Queensland to euthanise reptiles include freezing

If a vet is not readily available you must place the reptile in a bag and put it in the fridge until torpid ie unconscious
Then you place it in the freezer

For demonstrators and exhibitors these are the only two methods permitted

For cats rats rabbits and small dogs we use the brick wall method here

 

[Airlie]

commonally refered to as chilling

 

[kawasakirider]

Snakepimp
The only two ways permitted by the EPA in Queensland to euthanise reptiles include freezing

If a vet is not readily available you must place the reptile in a bag and put it in the fridge until torpid ie unconscious
Then you place it in the freezer

For demonstrators and exhibitors these are the only two methods permitted

For cats rats rabbits and small dogs we use the brick wall method here

*** would you want to kill a dog for?

 

[congo_python]

*** would you want to kill a dog for?

I was thinking the same thing as soon as i read that line ??? what the ***k are you killing small dogs for ??

 

[dangles]

Food for a big scrub python?

 

[kawasakirider]

Not acceptable.

Nor is it feesable... Dogs gestation is too long, and then to raise a pup to a size that would be substantial for a big python would take too long.

 

[Tikanderoga]

and then to raise a pup to a size that would be substantial for a big python would take too long.

There are so many "puppies free to good home" adds - just go 'round, and collect enough for a decent meal for the olive or the scrubbie. Repeat in a few months.
But jokes aside: We breed our own rats and mice too.
Rats for my B&G jungles - quick whack to the wall or table and off to the pythons
Mice for the beardies - well.. actually only their pinkies for a bit of food variety.
We just reduced the mice breeding stock from 20 females to 4 females, as mice just take ages to reach adult size, compared to a weaner/hopper rat. Every now and then, one of the females needs to get replaced, so the litter will be allowed to grow to full size, my wife then picks the one she'd like to keep, the rest speed-dates the brick wall.
My wife enjoys playing with the color breeding for the rats and mice - as do I on that subject. But graduation is my job.

At the moment, we have a steady stream of weaner/hopper rats (they are just ready for feeding time), and the female rats also get a bit of rest between their litters. When the rats get separated from their mother, mother goes back to the boys (who have pet status) for some R&R, while the litter grows to the desired size.
Current stock: 5 female rats, 12 female mice (slowly reducing to 4), 2 male rats and 1 male mouse (currently separated from the females, so we don't graduate pregnant mice).

Little advice for rat breeding:
Feed them with pasta. We buy the cheap 1kg pasta bag from Aldi for like $1.29. It's called penne, and lasts for about a week for the stock above. Boxes with litter also get a dog saussage supplement for some extra protein. One saussage lasts about a week - also from Aldi.

 

[Rattler]

co2, pinkies in freezer as co2 doesnt kill them. I breed close to 500 per month. In the states many bag them but thats cruel

How many rats you got to pump out 500 a month?

 

[Snakeluvver2]

That's only cause you see dogs as a friend.
Go somewhere, where they were once thought of as a food source or just an animal.
I'd kill a dog to eat it, feed it to a snake ETC.
Just depends on your frame of mind.

 

[kawasakirider]

I wouldn't kill any animal by smacking it against a brick wall, regardless of whether I viewed it as pet material.