• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
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    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

What is the most humane way to euthanize a reptile?

MicroZooKits

MicroZooKits

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This is sort of a dark topic I know, but there comes a time in a keepers/breeders life where they will eventually have to make this decision.
When an animal cannot care for itself or is suffering from a disease or has sustained a life threatening injury and is only getting worse, a lot of people believe that it's best to just let that animal rest in peace rather then go through life suffering. I had a baby Savannah monitor a couple years back that had the weirdest disease where it eventually needed help to eat, drink, and defecate. Pretty much turned into a lifeless vegetable. He had actually drowned in the sink during a soak one day (during a manual defecation session) and I brought him back with CPR but after that it seemed that he no longer had the desire to live. He had the weirdest blank look in his eyes, didn't bask, eat, or do anything on his own. We kept him alive for another week or two after that day then we decided it was best to just let him go. We made him a little coffin, lined it with plants and flowers, said goodbye as we put the lid on and into the freezer he went. Sad as it was it was the best thing we could've done for the poor guy. We weren't about to let him starve to death or continue to keep him alive against his will. Two years later I face the same predicament. I just hatched a baby leopard gecko that has a severe neurological disorder that prevents him from walking and balancing. He is about a week old now and has shown no sign of improvement. I have manually fed him the last couple days to try and encourage development, but I don't think it's going to happen. Today he was "lost" in the lid of a pickle jar totally disoriented and I felt really bad for him.
I don't want to manually feed him every day because he's too discombobulated to hunt on his own, and I don't want him to starve either.
It's coming down to that point of judgment again and I want to be sure that if I have to do the duty that it's done right and with as little discomfort as possible. I understand the quickest most painless way but I don't really want to deal with a horrifying memory of being the executioner. Things like that stick in my mind and arise at the wost times possible.
 
While freezing was once considered a humane option, what I have seen more recently indicates that reptiles do not just "go to sleep" in the ice box. Things seem to point toward that method being quite painful, and a rather inhumane choice. I've never tried a CO2 chamber (many people use them for dispatching rodents, esp in quantity); but one member that did reported that it wasn't a good experience & he would never do it again. So much for the ways that would probably leave you with the clearest conscience.
Cervical dislocation is probably a reasonable option with smallish to medium sized specimens, but it would definitely leave one in the executioner role. Heart sticks, or various meds are also options...but not everybody has the access or skills.

(I still use the freezer for the occasional deformed hatchling)
 
IMHO, the most human methods are halothane (gaseous anaesthetic) overdose or intra-cardiac injection of sodium pentabarbital. The latter is quicker and requires less specialized setup (though it's illegal for the individual to possess), but can be difficult for large animals. Both require a vet.

The freezer used to be[/b] acceptable, but more recent studies suggest that ice crystals form in the extremities before unconsciousness, leading to unacceptable levels of pain. Research labs are now no longer allowed to use it. (Although apparently it can work if you use liquid nitrogen - but that's not exactly something most people have access to).

CO2 is actually not a very good idea - the trigger for respiration is high blood CO2, not low oxygen, so the animal will 'freak out' as it feels itself unable to asphyxiate. Death would be due to blood acidification, not due to lack of oxygen, since herps require very little O2.

Cervical dislocation is similarly problematic. Because of their low metabolism, CD or decapitation would not cause instant death, and in species such as snakes, it could take minutes or hours.



Unfortunately, this rather leaves anyone who isn't a vet in a tight spot. The chemicals for truly humane methods are illegal to own privately, and the other methods are inhumane.

My recommendation is a slow cooldown, possibly in the fridge. This shouldn't cause the ice-crystal problem, but will put the animal to sleep. From there, you can try various things, such as the freezer, with less qualms. Honestly, I'd recommend double-pithing (inserting a sharp probe into the brain via the base of the neck, and quickly "scrambling" it, then doing the same for the anterior spinal cord) after deep refrigeration, but that requires even more skill than cervical dislocation, especially on small animals.


So, IMHO: Fridge first, then freezer. It may not be 100% like anaesthetic overdose, but the use of the fridge will make it the most palatable method.

Also, for anyone reading this who needs to euthanize amphibians - most specialty tropical fish stores (and many such websites) sell a compound called MS-222 or Tricaine. It's harmless to anything with an impermeable skin (reptiles, mammals, birds), but will anesthetize any amphibian simply by immersing them in a bath of it. For anesthesia, use 250 mg/L, buffered with 375 mg/L of baking soda. For euthanasia, triple-dose it. It takes a long while, especially for large animals, and be sure to confirm the death by freezing - the last thing you want is the animal to wake up again after being disposed of.
 
Mokele said:
My recommendation is a slow cooldown, possibly in the fridge. This shouldn't cause the ice-crystal problem, but will put the animal to sleep. From there, you can try various things, such as the freezer, with less qualms. Honestly, I'd recommend double-pithing (inserting a sharp probe into the brain via the base of the neck, and quickly "scrambling" it, then doing the same for the anterior spinal cord) after deep refrigeration, but that requires even more skill than cervical dislocation, especially on small animals.


So, IMHO: Fridge first, then freezer. It may not be 100% like anaesthetic overdose, but the use of the fridge will make it the most palatable method.
Click to expand...

From everything I've read, I would have to agree with this method...still sucks, but seems to be one of the better methods.
 
I agree. From what I had heard, a slow cool down is the best option if/when a vet is not available. I have the same issues the OP had with neck breaking, beheading, etc. I do tend to take an intermediate step and reduce the temp first to room temp (ie- turn off the UTH) overnight, and then try to find a cool spot in the house for a couple hours before the fridge. I also tend to move them from a slightly warmer to a slightly colder part of the fridge if possible.
 
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