Tired of thawing bloody rats

Hey y'all,

I have read on most rat distributors websites that they use CO2 to euthanize their animals, however, an awful lot of blood still pours out of their face when thawed. My RodentPro rats anyways. Is this unavoidable? Have ya'll had this same experience, or have a testimonial for another source of rats?

I used CO2 for my rats also and they still bleed from the nose I don't know why but it happens.

Yeah, I gas my own rats and they still bleed. Not all of them, but maybe a third. I haven't really thought about it, but it may also depend on size of the rat. Or maybe the larger rats just have more blood and it's more noticeable.

the f/t I use don't bleed once thawed (and no dried blood on their faces). I currently buy from a local supplier (rodents4u) and in the past bought from big cheese, never had bleeding issues with either place.

Perhaps it has to do with the type of CO2 used (canister vs dry ice) and or the concentration. Besides respriatory failure it can cause changes in blood pressure which may be causing the hemorrhage? I don't know enough about it to really know.
http://la.rsmjournals.com/content/39/2/137.full.pdf

I usually stock up & pick up a few bags of rats from local reptile show. Saves me from dealing with live rats at home & saves me money, plus I get to check out everyone's critters with my son every other month. Recently I found one bag of rats where it looks like they actually cut the throat of the rats, besides making a mess I don't get the reasoning behind it. I wouldn't mind paying a more to save myself the mess & be a little more humane to the rats, if its a way the distributors are trying to bring down cost? If there is another reason behind it I'd love to hear about it or if anyone else experience this?

Sorry to bump this week-old thread, but this is the first time I've ever heard of cutting the throats on rodents before. Did they really do that? It doesn't even seem practical....

Anyways I've noticed more bleeding when I thaw them rapidly in hot water compared to when I just let them thaw gradually by room temp. I always prefer a slow thaw if I have the time, it seems to me as if the quality's better. *shrug*

Originally Posted by ~Just Curious~

Sorry to bump this week-old thread, but this is the first time I've ever heard of cutting the throats on rodents before. Did they really do that? It doesn't even seem practical....

Anyways I've noticed more bleeding when I thaw them rapidly in hot water compared to when I just let them thaw gradually by room temp. I always prefer a slow thaw if I have the time, it seems to me as if the quality's better. *shrug*

Yea, that's what I didn't understand. It just didn't make much sense to me either. I tried to snap some quick photos before I walk out the door for work so you get a better idea of exactly what I mean. I definitely share the same experience thawing feeders out gradually, especially with these rats.

That's different, I've never seen that before. Don't think I'd like it much myself to be honest...
I'd like to hear the reasoning behind it as well, perhaps you can ask the distributer if you see them at another show?
Thank you for taking the time to share those pictures!

no problem, I'm going to the Oaks show Nov. 10th & definitely plan on asking. I'll update once I hear the reasoning. I might be finding a different rodent provider too, based on the answer.

I'm quite curious, so thank you very much for letting us know!
Good luck!