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what would you do with kink tail boas?

hatchet isn't as good as blunt force head trama, this is what I have done before. once I did the fridge to freezer but would prefer the vet or the head trama. Hatchet, just cutting the head off, the brain will still live (it's been documented with rattlesnakes that the head can survive for up to an hour after decapitation) so if you decap, also have to pith the brain.

CO2 is not a good way to euthanize reptiles, it works for mammals but reptiles have too slow of a metabolism (I believe?), it would take way too long.

http://www.anapsid.org/euth.html
http://www.anapsid.org/decap.html

Reglardless, it's done and kudos to you, I believe it is the ethical thing to do.

As for the cause, could be a number of factors including but not limited to temperature and/or genetics. In the wild, not all the babies make it or are born perfect either (as I'm sure you already know). ;)
 
I think it was a few years ago that somebody (Rick - crotalusadamanteus - maybe?) posted about an attempt at euthanizing a snake in a CO2 chamber...it definitely wasn't comparable to gassing rodents. From what I recall, the snake writhed around for some time.



*Edit* It wasn't Rick...but I may have talked with him about it after the fact. Art Klass had a bad experience with attempting to euthanize snakes in that manner.
 
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I would imagine the same issues or putting snakes under for surgery with "gas" would yield the same issues as using CO2 on them. When the vet was trying to knock out one of my snakes she told me a big issue is that snakes do not take in air as often and as quickly as mammals and often times hold their breath if they manage to sense something a miss. I was holding the back of my boa's head while they had the mask on her and it took a considerable more amount of time to get her under than my dogs because she was holding her breath as well as taking in small ones.
 
Rich, Sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately, as bad as it stinks, this part of the hobby has to be dealt with when breeding. I think most of us that have produced more than a few clutches/litters have been in the same situation. Never gets any easier, but know that you did the right thing.
 
Rich, Props to you for doing the deed! As breeders we owe these animals a responsibility to not just produce offspring, but to produce the best offspring that we can. I was in your shoes earlier this year with a litter. It sucks, usually the ones that need culled are the nicer ones of the litter. I culled a couple earlier this year that were nowhere near those. Good luck and wish you the best with the rest of your season. Jeff
 
Props for the balls
Unless you know for sure the kinks were not due to a cool gestation period
then culling is a must. Cool gestation is proven to throw kinks and wild patterns
in many species of snakes.

They can reproduce litter after litter of perfect examples
and their offspring as well.

But gentic defects are different and they have an adverse affect for generations
 
Hatchet is quickest and probably most humane if you got the nerves to do it. Most people don't, thats why they choose to place them in the fridge then later in the freezer. It is much slower that way. I personally just use the hatchet. It makes my stomach sick (I have only done it once), but makes more sense then placing them in the fridge/freezer.
 
I have had to kill Boas with deformities, as well as bigger Boas that would not react to medication and just got worse and worse . I fully agree with April, in that the best , and quickest method is to smash the head. I grew up in a family of hunters, and seen many animals butchered , so I don't have a weak stomach when it comes to having to do these things . I found it easiest to take the Boa out to the garage . Place it on the concrete floor, and place a block of wood over its head ( pinching the head to the floor) , and using a 5 lb hammer to hit the block of wood.
.
About 8 years ago, I came back from being on vacation, only to find my favorite Boa had prolapsed days earlier, and was too late to fix the issue (dried tissues) - she had to be put down . I talked to a taxidermist about maybe stuffing her , but the price was rediculous . So I decided to skin her, and tan the hide. (I've done this as a child with mammals many times) . This was prior to me knowing that the head needed to be smashed . So I cut her head off, and not only did her eyes follow me for almost an hour , her heart kept beating apart from her body for 45 minutes - it was a really wierd experience. Again , Aprils advice is the best advice in my opinion.
 
allreptiles1966 said:
Why does this happen?
My herpstat was at 88.5 degrees and the last litter didnt have this issue?Could it be she is big and only in a 4' boaphile?
Click to expand...

That's not as hot as you might think. She probably didn't read that part of the book. ;)

I keep mine where the Herpstat reads 93-95°F. If it gets too warm, they'll go cool off on the other side. Rich Isle (I believe it was him) has mentioned keeping his gravid females hot spot closer to 100° with no ill effects.

Too bad they are more primitive then Pythons. Some Pythons have learned to "vibrate" and generate heat when their clutch gets too cool.

Props for doing what what's right.
 
Morgans Boas said:
I have had to kill Boas with deformities, as well as bigger Boas that would not react to medication and just got worse and worse . I fully agree with April, in that the best , and quickest method is to smash the head. I grew up in a family of hunters, and seen many animals butchered , so I don't have a weak stomach when it comes to having to do these things . I found it easiest to take the Boa out to the garage . Place it on the concrete floor, and place a block of wood over its head ( pinching the head to the floor) , and using a 5 lb hammer to hit the block of wood.
.
About 8 years ago, I came back from being on vacation, only to find my favorite Boa had prolapsed days earlier, and was too late to fix the issue (dried tissues) - she had to be put down . I talked to a taxidermist about maybe stuffing her , but the price was rediculous . So I decided to skin her, and tan the hide. (I've done this as a child with mammals many times) . This was prior to me knowing that the head needed to be smashed . So I cut her head off, and not only did her eyes follow me for almost an hour , her heart kept beating apart from her body for 45 minutes - it was a really wierd experience. Again , Aprils advice is the best advice in my opinion.
Click to expand...


I cant help but find this fascinating, yet extremely disturbing at the same time. Not to beat a dead horse...or snake for that matter, but props for doing the right thing, I cant begin to imagine how hard that must be.
 
hhmoore said:
I think it was a few years ago that somebody (Rick - crotalusadamanteus - maybe?) posted about an attempt at euthanizing a snake in a CO2 chamber...it definitely wasn't comparable to gassing rodents. From what I recall, the snake writhed around for some time.



*Edit* It wasn't Rick...but I may have talked with him about it after the fact. Art Klass had a bad experience with attempting to euthanize snakes in that manner.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was Art, but we've talked about it.

Contrary to popular belief, cooling isn't such a good method either. The "humanity" issue is that it takes a while, and freezing cells burst causing pain, whether they're too cold to react to it or not.
 
Hope this isn't too off-topic, but I wonder whether a humane combination of methods might be to cool the snake in the fridge (not freezer) and THEN smash the head or pith? Just thought it might keep the snake stiller ---> fewer severed fingers and less wriggling and stress for all?
 
A quick follow up- I ended up keeping the 1 minor kink tailed boa and it's doing fine.
It eats well,but i only feed every 2 weeks so i dont get her too full and have a hard time defecating.It's growing well,sheds and defecates well.
The kink did not straighten out at all but she seems fine and will be a very long term pet.
Thanks to all who offered advice.
Its been 4 months to the day since it was born.
Rich
 
I actually witnessed someone trying to euthanize a snake in a gas chamber for rats. For a minute there, it looked like the deed had been done, and looked relatively "easy" on the snake..The snake was there motionless, not even breathing for at least a good minute, and so he took the snake out and to both of our surprise, the snake started moving. It was slower than normal, and seemed confused.
It was one of the most strange experiences ever, and did not work at all. I would NOT recommend using a gas chamber on a snake. He ended up having to smash the head.

Good going with doing what needed to be done.
As bad as it is having to do it, it's an even better thing that you ended their misery before it had to really start.
 
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