Methods of euthanasia, other than the freezer.

[Sarcastro]

The freezer is the best way for inverts but doesn't work on them all..the cold does the same thing to them it does to humans,it slows down the body and eventually you fall asleep and don't wake-up.

 

[Kirk]

Rather than debate whether or not T's feel pain. Let's assume the freezer method, and the CO2 method are equally valid and continue discussing the possibility of other methods, such as the alcohol method.

I've never heard of using alcohol, unless they mean immersing the animal in it. I've been placing live inverts in formaldehyde and ethanol for 30 years (for research purposes), and considering their reactions, they don't like it.

Keep in mind that we associate discomfort with cold because we have distinct physiological reactions to lowering temperatures. Poikilotherms don't react that way, but instead simply reduce metabolic activity.

 

[sharpfang]

That was the point of my comment Jeb - Sorry

In the future, I'll ignore, or let others deal w/ what I have "perceived"

as insults or Antagonism......I don't know why I allow it to bother me......
{respect thing}
......Next time I'll just do this instead of "feeding into" what I "feel", is un-warranted negativity.

Maybe I do give tarantulas too much credit.........I will error on the side of
being humane. However, tarantulas probably "think" and calculate, and "feel", much differently than I, or we, have come to surmise.

I feel freezer is quick way to go for Non-thermo regulating creatures.

I have a hard time beleiving they do not Hurt, or Stress from it though-
@least to some extent.

"That's just my opinion, I could be wrong" - Dennis Miller

P.S. Flushing has worked for many Hobbyists over the years........How do you think we got Gators in the sewers ? LOL

 

[Smitty78]

Your opinion of me? ...to put it nicely ; I couldnt care less.

I see my comment made you jump, maybe theres a reason for it .

For the record, to read things like dropping a block on it, flushing it in the toilet
and the shot gun one ...That last one might be joking, allright...but the others...

Fran,

Seriously there is nothing wrong with flushing a spider that is suffering, on it's last legs, etc.. It's not any worse than freezing it, or suffocating it with c02. All are quick and easy. It's not like we are talking about the family dog or cat, it's a spider for gods sake.

If you have a problem with it, make sure you give that cow or pig a big hug for me before it ends up on your dinner plate.

 

[Fran]

Guys, do whatever you please with your tarantulas,please...Be my guess.

Paul Fleming, I really think trying to use reason with a bunch of
Platyhelminthes will be more effective than trying it with you. No offense.

 

[BrettG]

Then what do you suggest?I hear a lot of disagreeing,but no advice.......

 

[BrettG]

Fran,

Seriously there is nothing wrong with flushing a spider that is suffering, on it's last legs, etc.. It's not any worse than freezing it, or suffocating it with c02. All are quick and easy. It's not like we are talking about the family dog or cat, it's a spider for gods sake.

If you have a problem with it, make sure you give that cow or pig a big hug for me before it ends up on your dinner plate.

Thanks for being one of the few people that actually did not go overboard in this thread. Seriously.Now it is time for me to sit in the shadows and watch this turn into a pissing match,AB style.With the same characters!

 

[Teal]

Personally -

I would use the freezer method, if I had to choose.
I wouldn't be against CO2, but the time of putting it together properly would make things worse for me (I'm sensitive, shush)... and since there are no ill effects to using a freezer, it would get things over with quickly.

I wouldn't be able to use a stone on a tarantula...
I've butchered meat animals and shot dogs (that needed euthanasia, not just randomly).. but taking a stone to a T isn't something I think I could muster the courage for.

 

[Noexcuse4you]

You could always steam your little friend and eat him with a butter garlic sauce. Its quite tasty!

 

[Fran]

Im 6.1 260 pounds and I couldnt bring myself to butcher a meat animal neither to put down a dog.
Not in a MILLION years.

 

[sharpfang]

I like the Cow and Pig reference!

It is SOOOOOooooo true.......We all go to the market and buy a steak,

{except veggimites - I live in Hippy town} But, don't consider much about the "process".

I am a Journeyman Butcher, and understand the industry's procedures.

I have No problem pretending I am a surgeon......The animals I break-or cut,
are no longer living.....Not hard at All for me.....

I have put more different creatures in the freezer than I'd care to admit
{worked at petstores before}. It is never an Easy feeling for me.

I explain this thread to my wife last night {she does Not want e-mail play-by-plays from me, understandably}......She is caring person, but, Feels that I Do infact, give T's too much credit........"That a creature that eats it's own young........
w/ out Remorse or emotions".......well...........they are just simpler than I think probably.

Everyone is getting along here, I feel............could a live tarantula survive flushing I wonder.......Not if it was un-recoverable to begin with, Ofcourse......But, what if it was recoverable.......I have heard the Red-Tail Boa - Toilet stories before!

 

[Julia]

I've never heard of using alcohol, unless they mean immersing the animal in it. I've been placing live inverts in formaldehyde and ethanol for 30 years (for research purposes), and considering their reactions, they don't like it.

Kirk,

Could the "alcohol method" be referring to anesthetizing the tarantula before euthanasia? I've seen this work on insects before, but never with alcohol. A cotton ball soaked in nailpolish remover and placed in a semi-airtight container with an insect will knock it out (fairly quickly) for quite a while. Eventually, even hours later, the insect will come around again. (Note: We did not leave the cotton in with the insect for more than a few minutes after it stopped moving... I assume that prolonged exposure to the fumes/lack of enough air would have completely killed it.)

Again, this is with insects, not tarantulas... But if it does work with a tarantula, perhaps "putting it to sleep" before putting it in the freezer would be considered a more humane way to go about things.

 

[curiousme]

I would not euthanize a tarantula. I do not think they have the capacity to 'suffer' in a human sense. They can drop legs, so how much 'pain' do you really think they experience. I would do everything in my power to give it a fighting chance to bounce back and accept that it may not. If I were to euthanize it, there is no coming back.

I cannot believe that squishing them was presented as an option, but if it 'has' to be done; the freezer would be best IMO.

 

[Kirk]

Kirk,

Could the "alcohol method" be referring to anesthetizing the tarantula before euthanasia? I've seen this work on insects before, but never with alcohol. A cotton ball soaked in nailpolish remover and placed in a semi-airtight container with an insect will knock it out (fairly quickly) for quite a while. Eventually, even hours later, the insect will come around again. (Note: We did not leave the cotton in with the insect for more than a few minutes after it stopped moving... I assume that prolonged exposure to the fumes/lack of enough air would have completely killed it.)

Again, this is with insects, not tarantulas... But if it does work with a tarantula, perhaps "putting it to sleep" before putting it in the freezer would be considered a more humane way to go about things.

Alcohol fumes might work as a narcotizing agent, but I don't know how effective it is to result in death. Your point about nail polish remover seems like a good candidate, if used in an insect killing jar-type of configuration. Just be sure the nail polish remover is ethyl acetate, and not acetone.

 

[Zoltan]

I wouldn't use the "flush" method... I suspect that it takes tarantulas a lot more time to die by drowning that most people would imagine.

could a live tarantula survive flushing I wonder.......Not if it was un-recoverable to begin with, Ofcourse......But, what if it was recoverable.......I have heard the Red-Tail Boa - Toilet stories before!

Hint hint

 

[Mack&Cass]

I could be completely wrong here..however,

Last night we used our CO2 tank for the first time to euthanize some mice. It took a good 15 minutes for the mice to die. We didn't have it going full blast or anything, but it still took quite some time. If it took 15 minutes to kill mice, don't you think it would take a lot longer to kill a T? Since CO2 works by suffocating whatever you're trying to kill, and mammals have a higher rate of breathing than arachnids (just look at how little airholes Ts need to survive), it seems like it would take quite some time to kill a T via CO2. Once again, I'm just basing it off of my observations of euthanizing mice, but it just seems to be that a lot of CO2 would be required for a long period of time to kill a T. It just seems like the freezer would be the best option, as opposed to CO2.

I could be totally wrong, but based on my observations last night, I think it would take a really long time to kill a T using CO2. I don't know if it's different using dry ice in a container with the T versus a CO2 tank, but the tank it what we used for the mice, so that's all I can really go off of.

Cass

 

[Sym]

explosives. there's no suffering when they are destroyed by a shock wave traveling at 3300 feet per second. it disassembles them at the cellular level.

seems cruel, but at least i am 100% positive there won't even be the smallest amount of suffering before it dies. it's also pretty cheap too.

 

[gvfarns]

I could be completely wrong here..however,

Last night we used our CO2 tank for the first time to euthanize some mice. It took a good 15 minutes for the mice to die. We didn't have it going full blast or anything, but it still took quite some time. If it took 15 minutes to kill mice, don't you think it would take a lot longer to kill a T? Since CO2 works by suffocating whatever you're trying to kill, and mammals have a higher rate of breathing than arachnids (just look at how little airholes Ts need to survive), it seems like it would take quite some time to kill a T via CO2. Once again, I'm just basing it off of my observations of euthanizing mice, but it just seems to be that a lot of CO2 would be required for a long period of time to kill a T. It just seems like the freezer would be the best option, as opposed to CO2.

I could be totally wrong, but based on my observations last night, I think it would take a really long time to kill a T using CO2. I don't know if it's different using dry ice in a container with the T versus a CO2 tank, but the tank it what we used for the mice, so that's all I can really go off of.

Cass

The CO2 knocks them out. I suspect it would indeed take a long time to kill them with CO2, but I don't recall that being what was suggested.

CO2 puts them to sleep much faster than it would us. I think their lungs are less efficient or something.

Of course we don't really know what they experience. For all we know, they could be conscious (if there is such a thing for tarantulas) and just paralyzed when we hit them with CO2. But it seems a lot like anesthesia to us, so I'd say it's ok.

 

[Nerri1029]

I could be completely wrong here..however,

Last night we used our CO2 tank for the first time to euthanize some mice. It took a good 15 minutes for the mice to die. We didn't have it going full blast or anything, but it still took quite some time. If it took 15 minutes to kill mice, don't you think it would take a lot longer to kill a T? Since CO2 works by suffocating whatever you're trying to kill, and mammals have a higher rate of breathing than arachnids (just look at how little airholes Ts need to survive), it seems like it would take quite some time to kill a T via CO2. Once again, I'm just basing it off of my observations of euthanizing mice, but it just seems to be that a lot of CO2 would be required for a long period of time to kill a T. It just seems like the freezer would be the best option, as opposed to CO2.

I could be totally wrong, but based on my observations last night, I think it would take a really long time to kill a T using CO2. I don't know if it's different using dry ice in a container with the T versus a CO2 tank, but the tank it what we used for the mice, so that's all I can really go off of.

Cass

CO2 renders them "unconscious" rather quickly.
I've used it a few times.
For euthanasia, I'd then place it in the freezer.

I have used this method before. MM older.
it is easily the method I'd choose.

 

[jebbewocky]

I would not euthanize a tarantula. I do not think they have the capacity to 'suffer' in a human sense. They can drop legs, so how much 'pain' do you really think they experience. I would do everything in my power to give it a fighting chance to bounce back and accept that it may not. If I were to euthanize it, there is no coming back.

I cannot believe that squishing them was presented as an option, but if it 'has' to be done; the freezer would be best IMO.

I understand that viewpoint--really, it's more to put them out of my misery than anything else. My heart can't watch them linger, even if they don't actually suffer. I absolutely believe in waiting until it is clear they won't make it however.

CO2 renders them "unconscious" rather quickly.
I've used it a few times.
For euthanasia, I'd then place it in the freezer.

I have used this method before. MM older.
it is easily the method I'd choose.

Thanks!