Garter Snake Forum - View Single Post - freezing mice......humane question...well lots of

KITKAT · 01-12-2007, 09:05 PM

Having raised mice for sale to herpers in the past...

I froze my pinkies, up until eyes were opened. This is because they are cold blooded similar to herps until the eyes open.

Now as to humane methods... the trick is to freeze them in a way that they don't feel the creeping cold...

When you put pinkies in a bag and lay them directly on a cold surface in the freezer, they can feel the cold because it is sudden. So what you want to do is place a paper towel or two under the pinkies.

Most pinkies will be dead in less than three minutes, but I always froze mine for at least 10 minutes before opening the package and removing the paper towel.

Impact killing is not painless for pinkies because their brain is not developed enough to cut off the rest of the central nervous system. Cervical seperation (broken or pinched neck) is also not effective on pinkies for the same reason.

Impact killing can cause lesions (breaks) in the skin, and that leads to dessication during storage, as well as giving bacteria a foothold for invasion of the stored body.

So I suggest freezing as above.

01-12-2007, 09:05 PM	#18 (permalink)
KITKAT Old and wise snake Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 915 Country:	Re: freezing mice......humane question...well lots of Having raised mice for sale to herpers in the past... I froze my pinkies, up until eyes were opened. This is because they are cold blooded similar to herps until the eyes open. Now as to humane methods... the trick is to freeze them in a way that they don't feel the creeping cold... When you put pinkies in a bag and lay them directly on a cold surface in the freezer, they can feel the cold because it is sudden. So what you want to do is place a paper towel or two under the pinkies. Most pinkies will be dead in less than three minutes, but I always froze mine for at least 10 minutes before opening the package and removing the paper towel. Impact killing is not painless for pinkies because their brain is not developed enough to cut off the rest of the central nervous system. Cervical seperation (broken or pinched neck) is also not effective on pinkies for the same reason. Impact killing can cause lesions (breaks) in the skin, and that leads to dessication during storage, as well as giving bacteria a foothold for invasion of the stored body. So I suggest freezing as above. __________________ KitKat "Acts of kindness should never be random."