how to euthanize a leopard gecko?

[muscle]

Why are people still giving advice? He stated that the animal was euthanized by a veterenarian. Which is the best way to go. I've heard of way too many home euthanizations gone wrong. I was even part of one. It sucks, it's messy, and it's painful for the animal. Unless you know 100% what you're doing, always go with a vet.

RIP Gecko.

Best post.

 

[pbass510]

Great advice Pshtex...

My suggestion would have been to wrap it in a cloth, set it on concrete and stomp on it's head. Then discard the cloth...

Quick and painless is the best route. Freezing is not quick nor painless.

that was a wtf moment

 

[Vicious_Fish]

For future reference... a simple co2 chamber... a little bit of dry ice which you can usually get at a grocery store, inside of a sealed tupperware container, maybe in a little cup of water inside the container to help it melt faster. this way the animal actually does just go to sleep.

I agree. This is supposedly the best way to put a small animal down such as a reptile. This is also how they kill all the feeder mice/rats you buy at pet stores.

 

[muscle]

C02 is great, but not with dry ice! When I put down feeder rats, I use a big C02 tank and an air tight chamber. The rats die very fast. However, you can actually torture an animal with dry ice. Generally, the C02 released is not potent enough to put them down quickly. You are basically choking them slowly. I've actually seen people attempt to put down rats with C02 and think they've done it correctly, only to have the rats recover and appear normal. They were choked almost to death, but then allowed to breath and recover.

 

[J.Lake]

sorry for your loss

 

[Joe M]

I guarantee stomping on his head is far from painless. Especially if you don't get it right the first time. Techniques like severing the spinal cord can be effective, but most don't do it correctly and leave the animal twitching in pain.

I've produced thousands of leopard geckos and thousands of other reptiles. Unfortunately, euthanasia of deformed or sick animals comes with the territory. When I put an animal down, I put it in the deep freeze which is set to about 0 F. They immediately go to sleep and then die. It is painless and the technique most all reptile breeders use and recommend. I also use and recommend the C02 method. But again, if not done properly, it is far from painless.

Is that your Tagu? Do you cool him in the winter? Do you think he's in pain when he is in brumation?

Did you just try to draw a connection between a freezer and the temp at which you brumate a tEgu? Good effort, but no way. You know that the cells in the animals extremities will almost always lose heat and freeze first, and the cells in those areas will then burst during freezing, causing severe pain before the animal is unconscious, correct? You would have to literally flash freeze it to make it humane, and not many people have the means to do that. And dry ice is a bad idea.

Straight Co2 is the best method. All you need is something air tight, even Tupperware with duct tape, a paintball Co2 canister, and some parts to connect them and trigger the release of gas.

Co2 is best right after a vet of course, which is what happened. So it doesn't really matter anyway.

 

[paul112]

I remember reading about the CO2 method of killing feeder rodents. It has to be increased slowly, to make them fall asleep first, just sticking a load of CO2 in there causes suffocation panic, and will not be humane.

You get tired at night because your breathing slows and you become less efficient at removing CO2, making you tired and eventually fall asleep, however if you are put in a box full of CO2, you will hyperventilate and your body's survival mechanisms will kick in to try and get you breathing in oxygen again.

Best,
Paul

 

[Joe M]

I remember reading about the CO2 method of killing feeder rodents. It has to be increased slowly, to make them fall asleep first, just sticking a load of CO2 in there causes suffocation panic, and will not be humane.

You get tired at night because your breathing slows and you become less efficient at removing CO2, making you tired and eventually fall asleep, however if you are put in a box full of CO2, you will hyperventilate and your body's survival mechanisms will kick in to try and get you breathing in oxygen again.

Best,
Paul

Yes that is correct. You don't just load the box up with Co2. It's a gradual and fairly delicate process. It needs to be correctly to be humane, which is why a vet is the best option for your average person, as it also prevents someone from putting down an animal that didn't need it.

 

[muscle]

Did you just try to draw a connection between a freezer and the temp at which you brumate a tEgu? Good effort, but no way. You know that the cells in the animals extremities will almost always lose heat and freeze first, and the cells in those areas will then burst during freezing, causing severe pain before the animal is unconscious, correct? You would have to literally flash freeze it to make it humane, and not many people have the means to do that. And dry ice is a bad idea.

Straight Co2 is the best method. All you need is something air tight, even Tupperware with duct tape, a paintball Co2 canister, and some parts to connect them and trigger the release of gas.

Co2 is best right after a vet of course, which is what happened. So it doesn't really matter anyway.

Well written. Too bad you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[RMorrow]

I hate to be contrary, but CO2 in completely inappropriate for euthanizing reptiles. It works fine for rats and mice but not herps because of the ability of their brains to function in a low oxygen conditions. Other than taking the animal to the vet, several papers have been published measuring the brain function of reptiles during euthanasia procedures and hypothermia still produces the best results. The AVMA actually looked into it for its recommendations in laboratory use and actually suggested that hypothermia was NOT acceptable UNTIL they realized they had misinterpreted the conclusions from a very comprehensive research project. If brain activity is used to measure pain sensation, then it must be accepted that hypothermia is a very safe and humane method of euthanizing herps. I know it seems counterintuitive but the science and the research supports it.