Best way to kill rats?

[sphex]

I can't seem to do it right. I hit it on a table but it never dies. I'm sure I'm not hitting it hard enough. I end up torturing the thing, hitting it twice & still no luck. Tonight a piece of it's tail came off in my fingers & it bled all over the snake. Any suggestions? I heard of using
CO2 as a means. I have access to plenty of CO2. How do you do this?

[swm4life]

Because if the snake doesn't eat the rodent immediately, the rodent can kill or severely injure the snake.

[mayadog]

I think that after watching 200-300 rodents die in a few hour's work that my description above is "what I think" on the subject. I haven't seen any tortuous gulping for air.

Maybe you used way more gas than I do. It doesn't take much. And yeah,
I've tasted it, but the small amount we use in the tubs isn't enough to even leave a smell in the tub when we open it up.

[Miken]

i have gartersnakes, they only eat amphibians, worms, and fish, they dont eat crickets or any other insect and they are handleable but can be skittish at times, some eat mice tho. off the top of my head rough green snakes and smooth green snakes like to eat insects and spiders but ive heard they dont do well in captivity. as for lizards, i like the nocturnal geckos. leopard geckos and tokay geckos are my faves. i dont recomend tokays for beginners because they dont like to be handled and give nasty bites but i think a trio would be awesome in a 55 gallon terrarium with live plants, a watefall, and a little fog from an ultrasonic fogger. There was this awesome albino leopard gecko that i wanted but someone beat me to him. i had a empty 20 gallon screaming for the leopard gecko but since he was gone i got another leucistic ratsnake instead. he has a bad mutation (bug eyes) common to leucistic ratsnakes but he is a good eater and is very personable and not that nasty like my other one is. pics here
http://photos.yahoo.com/miss_scaryness his name is Buggy.

[EricV]

any suggestions (for specific snakes or bearded dragons eat mealworms/crickets and have great personalities.
uromastyx and prehensile tailed skinks can also be handled regularly and are both herbivorous.
obviously do not get a green iguana, they are the scourge of the pet trade.
i'm kidding, i've kept an iguana for 7 or 8 years and i love it, but it's a ton of work and shouldn't be attempted by someone unexperienced in keeping herps. honestly though, if i could go speak to the me of 8 years ago, i'd tell me to get a beardie or a monkey tail skink (previously referred to as prehensile tailed skink)

[Rinn]

Well, I hate do disagree but a few werent to impressed with my thoughts.
I never said people were really pissed at me, just that they didnt seem too happy about it.

If I do something wrong, I am man enought to apologize for it!!
The whole point of the last post of mine on this thread was to apologize for my error and to thank people for the heads-up.
What is wrong with doing this?? ... I thought people would respect the fact that I realize I was wrong and will try to fix the problem.

Ok, just where do you see me complaining about ANYTHING in this thread??
I got "on-topic" responses this time and I never complained!!
I wouldnt have even complained about "off-topic" ones.
Try not to give me shit for things I havent done!!
Seems like YOU are the one hard to please right now.

I certainly hope you are kidding with that last comment!!
If so then stop reading now!!

IF NOT ----> Keep reading!!
(I wrote the rest because I cant tell if you are serious or not)

What is with you?? ... Why are you looking for non-existant things to give me shit for??? ... What?? ... Do I need to praise each person individually??
Did I say anything to put down anyone or say thier help was useless??
Did I "SAY" you were chopped liver?? ... Did I say "ANYTHING"??
Are you at pissed at me because I didnt give you the recognition you seem to have expected?? I'm sorry.

I like the info fr0glet gave and the set-up she uses so I said so.
What is the problem with that??

A few days ago a guy needed some info about lighting and temp for Red Eared Sliders. I gave him plenty of very specific info in an easy to understand way. I also gave him a link to a page with all the other info he would need.
Should I be pissed because he didnt come back and thank me???
NO!! .... That isnt why I gave the help!!

[Okage Higumara]

Skip the bookstore....use the internet.

[Rinn]

Thanks for the info ....

To everyone else who responded and seems annoyed with me:
(And there seems to be quite a few)
Sorry, I have limited experience with snakes. I have only had
1 Albino Ball Python and he was full grown when I rescued him.
He refused to eat dead food. Apparently this is not the norm
BUT it WAS his way. He was an odd fellow but he was my buddy.
He would not touch anything that was dead .... dunno why.
Live rats werent a problem for him as he would whack-em with his head/body or squeeze em to death rather quickly. I tried all sorts of dead prey but no luck.

As for my comments about freezing the rats:
Please read what I have typed below.

I did not realise this. I figured it was pretty much universal.
I had expected numbnees and "falling asleep" as blood pressure lowered from the cold. I used to know a person who did it this way and I will definately correct him on this.

Thanks for the heads-up!!

I like your way best fr0glet .... yer da bomb!!
I hate seeing animals in pain.

[bcj68]

Turn rodent on it's back while holding the hindquarters. With a swift strong motiom, crack the rodent across a sharp edge (table edge, back of chair) striking the rodent right where the neck meets the shouiders.
Avoid hitting the head(lots of bleeding). The strike should instantly break the neck. Instant death.

[Rinn]

It drives me nutz trying to figure out if a person is being serious/nasty/kidding .... whatever!
I anticipated the possibility so, as you can see,
I put the "stop reading here" part ... hehehehe
I figured I was better safe than sorry!!