# Putting your own pet to sleep



## thaiblue12

I have been thinking about this all morning and doing some research. I had to put a tiny goat baby to sleep a couple of weeks ago and the vet charged me $74. I see that my last ferret is going the same way as others and soon enough it will be time. I know they stick a needle in the heart and it must be painful plus they will not let me be in the same room. They say it is awful to watch. 
Anyway to avoid high vet bills in the future and to be very humane to my animals I wonder if there is a way to do it at home without a gun, hooking them up to my car exhaust or putting a live animal in the freezer (some of the stuff I read this morning). 
Can you use sleeping pills and once asleep deeply use the freezer?
I have no idea how to get any ether and it is probably illegal anyway but it there something else like it I could use? 
I do not want to use anything that will cause pain, vomitting an etc. But I also need to stop being a wussy girl and hoping that a bum legged turkey baby dies on his own and I won't have to try to snap his little neck. 
Thanks


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## GoatsRus

Sticking a needle in the heart is NOT the correct way to put an animal down. There was a vet here in TN that lost his license because that is how he was putting down shelter dogs and cats. It was splashed all over the news.
I just had my dog put down and the vet gave her a sedative to make her groggy and then injected the medication into her vein that actually stopped her heart.


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## thaiblue12

Well that is suppose to be the correct way to put a ferret to sleep. When I called around they all do it that way. Ferrets are too small to due by IV I was told by quite a few. My vet does not do dogs and cats that way, he does those by IV. 
I just do not want to put him to sleep that way and I do want to find a way that I can use for the ferret, chicks, goat kids and etc that have issues without having a large vet bill or waiting around hoping they die on their own.


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## Otter

That is rough. You have my sympathy.

I never heard of putting a needle in the heart as a humane way of euthanasia. I always heard of an overdose of anesthetic, which makes the animal go to sleep, literally and then stops the heart beating. It is peaceful and not painful. 

I would find a different vet. Once I had to put a rabbit with wry neck down. Her head was twisted around and I didn't think I could give her a painless end so I contacted the local shelter and explained to them. They put her down (barbiturate overdose) for $10. They were kind and sympathetic. Not all shelters are like that but it's something to check out. 

I know that many who breed rodents to feed reptiles use a CO2 chamber. It is said to be very easy on the animal and simple and inexpensive to build.

It's a rough spot to be in, I hope you find a good solution.


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## Otter

If they can anesthetize an animal for a spay (and your ferret is probably fixed) they can anesthetize it the same way to put it down. You just need to find a vet who is used to dealing with small animals.


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## thaiblue12

Actually he is not fixed. He is a "healthy ferret" from a breeder. I went through all the sick ones from the big disgusting ferret mills and all their illness and heart break and I got myself on a year long waiting list for these "better" ferrets. 
I got 3 in case something happened to one the other would still have a friend. Well the one female was the meanest nastiest thing on the planet and she killed the sweet girl. She also attacked me badly when I went to get the poor dead one out of the litter box. So back to the breeder she went and I lost a good ferret and the money I spent on the evil one. I am evilly happy to say the breeder thought it was a "fluke" or I was exaggerating until the ferret went after HER face and she learned differently and had a nice fat lip. 
So then I was left with this guy. He just turned 2 and is already suffering from adrenal gland disease and now is showing signs of insulinoma as well. 
I have called other vets in the past around 7 or 8 of them and they all do ferrets this way. I think they gas them to put them to under for surgery They all say it is risky to knock something out so small. But they all do the needle in the heart thing to put them to sleep and I would like to avoid that this time. 
I can tell you this is the last ferret I will own. I am so over the diseases which alot do come from overbreeding, spaying too young and etc but the breeder ferrets aren't immune to these diseases either. I thought/hoped they would be but apparently not. 
Thanks for the tip Otter I will try to find out more info about these Co2 chambers.


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## Rouen

Co2 Chamber; http://forum.kingsnake.com/feeders/messages/17880.html
I wouldn't call the breeder of your ferrets better then a ferret farm, maybe the housing was better but the breeding doesn't sound it. we had 2 ferrets given to us by a friend, the female had cancer before we got her at age 4, she lived to be 8 years old, the male was healthy until he hit 9, he lived with insulinoma for a year, found him dead in his bed. no doubt he fell asleep, went into a comatose state and died, he was 10. 2 is very young for a ferret to be so sick.


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## thaiblue12

I am glad you had better luck than I Rouen. 
My first ferret Rio was 4 when she had adrenal gland disease. Surgery worked well for 3 years then she got insulinoma and lived for 6 more months on meds. Then went down hill and I had to have her put to sleep at 7 and a half years old. 
I later adopted 2 ferrets from two different people. Toby was my favorite ferret. He had the cutest face and sweetest personality ever and Flash well she was the fastest thing on 4 legs. Toby had some type of internal bleeding. That was 6 vet visits, 4 blood test, 7 types of meds, xrays and Nutrical which he hated, all while trying to keep him alive. He died at 2 years old and I was very sad and angry that he did not have a good long life. 
Flash could not handle the fact that Toby died and was not coming back. They were bonded and best buds and she kept searching for him each day when she was out of the cage. So about a month after he died she went into some type of seizure after searching all around yet again for him. She was dead before I got even get her to the vet and she was a year and a half old. 
That was when I said no more adopting ferret farm ferrets! So here I am with a sick ferret who is 2 yrs old and starting to loose weight, loose tail hair, drool and etc. He was suppose to go and have the adrenal surgery but the vet won't do it until he finds out what else is wrong. When the blood work does come back I am sure it will not be good. His stool is starting to look black and tarry so I am getting myself ready. 
My son plays paint ball so I might be able to make this chamber pretty easily and be ready for the worst. Thanks


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## TedH71

From what I understand, 85% of the ferrets in the US come from one or two ferret breeding farm and due to this, ferrets are severely inbred. European people do their own breeding differently since they insist their ferrets hunt for a living and they breed only the ones that hunt. One thing though, ever since they banned fox hunting and possibly rabbit hunting...they may have also banned mice/rat hunting with dogs/ferrets. Really stupid for all that banning. It'll probably wind up biting them in the butt.


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## bluetick

From what I understand, automobile starting fluid is ether, and therefore legal to buy/possess.


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## Ross

Ether is commonly used to start diesel engines......... and is extremely explosive!


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## Willowynd

We were/are discussing this same subject on a dog breeders list when trying to be humane about a suffering newborn that has no hope due to severe deformity or injury and not time to get to vet or can't because of whelping duties or none being in close enough distance or available. I was only faced with having to do it myself once..nursing week old kittens that my husky got ahold of (the ones she did not swallow immediately) and were suffering. I could not think it humane to listen to them cry and gurgle while thier internal injuries killed them. I could not put them in the freezer nor drown as I felt that was too long of a death. I broke thier necks and they went immeditely. That said, if I had ether (starter fluid) and could have sprayed a cloth and placed them into a plastic bag with it to put them to sleep first (and hopefully ended thier suffering with that alone), I may have chosen the freezer method. We have also discussed the homemade co2 method used for rats (using baking soda and vinegar), though in a situation where time is everything (intestines outside body either from birth or mom's error or sonthing similar), I feel it would take me too long to get it set up. Others have talked about poking a few holes in a plastic bag, placing a hose on the exhaust of the car and taping the bag around the end and starting the car and letting it run. Others talked of drowning in a bucket done by past breeders (though we all agreed that was not humane). Not a pretty subject, some members were horrified and accused others of trying to save a buck (which was not the case)....but they had never had a newborn pup or small animal that was suffering severely and could not be helped, or if they did- had a vet close by and open. Others said it was illegal to put down a companion animal and was considered abuse/cruelty....so check your local laws or do not speak of it. Note, Ether should only be used in a well ventilated area away from pilot lights or such. Outside is best.


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## thaiblue12

Well since ether is so explosive I will stay away from that. 

Ted there are about 4 of them. Marshall Farms ( the worst offender to me)
Path Valley farm, Rainbow and the Canadian one. Some will tell you that Canadians are healthier but it is not true, they are the same. same health issues and too young altering and selling.

Willow I will not talk about it. I do know I live in a county that could careless but I will not let anyone know. I think I am going to build this Co2 chamber and just keep it in the garage in case of emergencies. I tried to break the neck of a turkey poult and each time I went to do it I just could not bring myself to twist. I thought of hacking his head off with a cleaver but I would have shut my eyes and probably taken off my thumb and not his head. 

I also read a method not mentioned by your group. It was using dry ice. You put it in a box and then using another box or piece of cardboard place the animal on top and shut the box and let the dry ice do it's work. Not sure that is any better than the freezer. 

I want something that fast and as painless as possible and this chamber sounds like the way to go. Plus more cost effective than taking a newborn goat 18 miles each way to the vet and paying $74 for a barbituate overdose which costs Otter $10.


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## livinzoo

Well I have used CO2 to kill rats that were to be used as snake food. I heard quick and painless. Well needless to say after the first batch I learned to walk away from the cooler for 5 minutes. They jump around and freak out. I used a Styrofoam cooler with a small kritter keeper that had some warm water in it. Once I had all the rats in the cooler I dropped a chunk of dry ice into the water. The kritter keeper kept the rats from landing in the water when they were freaking out. 

Good luck I know this is hard.


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## lasergrl

C02 in my experience, would be traumatic for you and the ferret. I do use this method for poultry and rats, but wouldnt do it to a "pet". I am afraid you would watch and be quite regretfull you did it that way. I have done it quite a few times, and tried the gas faster, tried it slower. Results are always the same. The animal is suffocating, it passes out from the C02 taking the place of oxygen after gasping for way too long... its the same as drowning without the water. 
injured and deformed chicks are given to my cat, who kills it faster then I could.


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## Willowynd

Check out this link...uses things you have at home and they say it is easier to control the amount of CO2.

http://www.ratfanclub.org/euth.html


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## Reptyle

thaiblue12 said:


> I also read a method not mentioned by your group. It was using dry ice. You put it in a box and then using another box or piece of cardboard place the animal on top and shut the box and let the dry ice do it's work. Not sure that is any better than the freezer.


The dry ice method isn't the same as putting them in the freezer. You aren't freezing them. When you place the dry ice in water it lets off CO2, which is what kills the animals.


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## Caprice Acres

I will be doing CO2/cervical dislocation for small animals after I get my snakes. Large animals like goats we shoot with a .22 round aimed for the medulla (base of the back of the head) which if destroyed, shuts down all bodily systems immediately. The animal will have reflexive jerking but it is NOT feeling anything anymore. We take our dogs/cats to the vet to be put to sleep, but in the future I will probably personally shoot any that need to be put down. Paying for a vet to kill your animal is kind of odd, when a bullet costs less and doesn't cause any additional pain/suffering, and also can be done in a quiet area at your own home, with the animal less relaxed than it would be if you were to take it to a vet. 

Intravenous euthanasia is a iffy topic here. My father doesn't trust it because one of our dogs FREAKED out and acted in SEVERE pain when euthed. He said it was one of the worst things he's ever had to witness, because the dog did nothing but stare at him and attempt to crawl to him for protection - when he took it there in the first place.


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## TedH71

While I can understand why you kill your snake's food, I think it's best for the snake to kill it's food because the snake gets to work on instincts. When I had corn snakes and ball pythons, I had a seperate cage for them to eat in so they would not develop the bite reflex each time I opened the cage and also I usually handled the snakes every day so they knew when it was meal time and when to act on their instincts. Some people would rather their snakes not get bit by the live prey..I think it's just part of the game of life.


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## Caprice Acres

A pet snake needs no live feeding instincts to be perfectly OK. It's not difficult to offer killed rodents, so you're not setting it up for problems later down the road - unless of course you're planning to release them in the wild. While you may think you're doing what's 'natural' for your pet, keep in mind in nature, your snake wouldn't be residing in a small area with a prey animal willing to fight to stay alive. If you feed chicks/small chickens, not a problem. But rabbits/rats/mice can cause some SERIOUS damage.


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## Reptyle

mygoat said:


> A pet snake needs no live feeding instincts to be perfectly OK. It's not difficult to offer killed rodents, so you're not setting it up for problems later down the road - unless of course you're planning to release them in the wild. While you may think you're doing what's 'natural' for your pet, keep in mind in nature, your snake wouldn't be residing in a small area with a prey animal willing to fight to stay alive. If you feed chicks/small chickens, not a problem. But rabbits/rats/mice can cause some SERIOUS damage.


Ditto.

Not to mention that some of those "pet" snakes are too expensive to risk the prey getting them better of them.


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## SunsetSonata

To use CO2 you may as well just enclose your pet's head in a plastic bag. The CO2 that builds up is exactly what triggers the panic response. I'd use a different method.


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## thaiblue12

In the case of the ferret I do not mind paying for the vet to put him to sleep. I mind the way it is done and the fact that you are not allowed to be with your animal. I did mind going to the vet 18 miles away and a visit that lasted all of 10 mins and paying $74 to put a newborn goat to sleep. 
I can and did admit I am too much of a softie to snap a goat kid's neck or even a turkey poult. I just do not have it in me and if I am forced into a position like the with the goat kid I want to be able to do it as quickly and painlessly as possible. I doubt I could shoot something as small as he was. Plus I got too attached to him too quickly. 
Funny about the baking soda and vinegar, when my son was little he use to make those "bombs" all the time. Until he had one go all over the counter, ceiling and etc. 
As far as snakes go I use to get mice from the reptile store ask for them to be killed, they would take them in the back and pop them one and give me a nice dead mousie in a bag. My son's friend also had a ball python, he did not notice that he was starting to shed. He dropped a live mouse in there and that mouse chewed down to the snake's spinal cord. I put mine in a large borwn paper grocery bag, dropped a mouse in there, make the bag crinkle and he would grab it within seconds. Then I would gently slide him out of the bag and back into the tank. 
Sunset I am open to any suggestions.


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## Terry W

many wildlife rehabbers preoer to use the inert gasses-- Argon and Nitrogen-- the body does not realize it is suffocating...
I have found a swift blow by shovel to the head to be very effiective-- sorry- but when one has rabbits asking to have their misery ended-- the shovel is wide enough I don't miss, and I can close my eyes as I pray I am successeful with the first blow.
now i have used a knife to the throat on one rabbit-- but it was a case of already knowing I had a rabbit out there that needed to be put out of it's misery-- it was not my rabbit, but since I butcher my own, I knew what to do to make it quick and 'painless' The rabbits' owner was happy to see the animal did not fight the process at all- not even a squeek....
I don't normally euth by knife-- but that is because I have to prepare myself for certain actions....


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## jennigrey

When my sister used to breed pet rats she would occasionally have need of a vet's euth services. The couple of different vets she used always put a needle of some drug into the heart or abdominal cavity. They didn't want her to watch and one of them was even oddly evasive about the particular procedure he was going to employ.

It wasn't until much later that she discovered that this needle-into-the-heart/abdomen procedure was a shortcut that vets took to save money and time. She later found a vet that would sedate the rat into unconsciousness first via an inhaled gas, and *then* give the lethal injection. Costs more, but it is worth it when you want to know your dear friend isn't feeling any pain.


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## GoatNamedDunn

TedH71 said:


> While I can understand why you kill your snake's food, I think it's best for the snake to kill it's food because the snake gets to work on instincts. When I had corn snakes and ball pythons, I had a seperate cage for them to eat in so they would not develop the bite reflex each time I opened the cage and also I usually handled the snakes every day so they knew when it was meal time and when to act on their instincts. Some people would rather their snakes not get bit by the live prey..I think it's just part of the game of life.


When you have LARGE pet snakes or even smaller ones who are big enough to eat an adult rat or mouse live rodents can be DANGEROUS to your snake. Even if you are watching a rat or mouse can bite and harm your snake by biting or scratching. I have seen 6 foot long boa's with deep wounds from a rat. That is one of the reason's people leave f/t.


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## lasergrl

jennigrey said:


> She later found a vet that would sedate the rat into unconsciousness first via an inhaled gas, and *then* give the lethal injection. Costs more, but it is worth it when you want to know your dear friend isn't feeling any pain.


Thats what we do where I work, gas down ferrets, g-pigs, rats and rabbits then heart stick. Hamsters mice and gerbis get an abdominal stick, this doesnt seem to hurt if done properly like the cardiac stick, but it takes longer. This can actualy beneficial if an owner want to hold the animal while it goes.


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## Sabrina67

Wow, we just had to put down my moms dog she had for 17 years. She was given a shot and just peacefully went to sleep. We were there with her and it was very gentle. 
Had a very old horse put down and it was the same only bigger shot...he just fell over. Instant , painless. 
I was very apprehensive because several years ago we found a dog that had been hit by a car and paralyzed. We took it to the local animal shelter thinking they would put it to sleep humanely. We didn't have money for a vet visit , and had no idea who the owner was. They were not nice and gave him a small amount of meds and it took him almost an hour to die. He vomited and pooped , ate it and drug his back end forever. I was so traumatized. 
But putting moms dog down after she had a stroke was not like that at all.It was very peaceful.


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## CalG315

thaiblue12 said:


> I have been thinking about this all morning and doing some research. I had to put a tiny goat baby to sleep a couple of weeks ago and the vet charged me $74. I see that my last ferret is going the same way as others and soon enough it will be time. I know they stick a needle in the heart and it must be painful plus they will not let me be in the same room. They say it is awful to watch.
> Anyway to avoid high vet bills in the future and to be very humane to my animals I wonder if there is a way to do it at home without a gun, hooking them up to my car exhaust or putting a live animal in the freezer (some of the stuff I read this morning).
> Can you use sleeping pills and once asleep deeply use the freezer?
> I have no idea how to get any ether and it is probably illegal anyway but it there something else like it I could use?
> I do not want to use anything that will cause pain, vomitting an etc. But I also need to stop being a wussy girl and hoping that a bum legged turkey baby dies on his own and I won't have to try to snap his little neck.
> Thanks


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## CalG315

Hi there. Im very sorry to read this even yrs later. But i too am looking for a better way. But to be perfectly honest with you a bullet is the next or if not thee best way to put an animal down. There is absolutely no pain. They go quickly. But im sure you have state land somewhere around you so it be best to go to state land instead of at home bc its illegal to discharge a firearm at a residence unless you have a farm. I have put a few pets down myself this way bc its quick and painless into the brain. Its very hard to do but as a farmer or regular person it hard to watch. But it does state you are able to put a pet down if its totally the right moment and if you know they're suffering. But not long from now i will be putting my ferret down bc i cant watch him suffer. I know its better for him and well being and know he went fast with no pain. 
But again im sry for what you had to go through and try and find the right answer. But in all reality there is no right answer sometimes and you gotta do whats best for your fury friends and yourself.


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## Danaus29

CalG315 said:


> But im sure you have state land somewhere around you so it be best to go to state land instead of at home bc its illegal to discharge a firearm at a residence unless you have a farm.


This depends on the state. Your laws may vary. In Ohio you have to be outside city limits to discharge on your own property or follow some very strict guidelines inside some city limits. You can't do it on state land unless you are inside a public hunting area.

But thank you for noting the date of this very old thread. Often newbies don't realize these threads are usually very old.


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## emdeengee

Better to spend the money and have a professional end the life of your animal. If you do it incorrectly - which is highly probable - they will suffer. Suffering is obviously not your intention.


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## Danaus29

I had a rabbit that needed to be put to sleep last year. Minimum $150 for him to be put in a mass chamber and they incinerate the body. Maximum was over $300 if I wanted the body returned. Most vets here have a rule that any animal must undergo a physical and vet exam before they would put it to sleep.


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## motdaugrnds

I realize this is an old thread; however, the subject matter is what every single homesteader has to deal with sooner or later. Living out in the country and slaughtering one's own food has brought some experiences (positive and negative); yet is a good teacher....

What we do on our place when an animal has lived a long life and is starting to suffer from old age (or from being hurt by something and unable to recover) is to spend a bit of time with it letting that animal (often pets by this time) know it is loved. Then we will shoot it in the brain where the shot kills immediately. Yes this is traumatic to us; but humane to the animal. And since our animals serve us well for years we figure it deserves the most loving method of dying no matter how difficult it is for us humans to do and/or witness.

After writing the above I remembered our cat, Jet. She was extremely old for a cat and we had just learned she had developed cancer. We were at the vet's office at the time; and when David looked at me I knew he could not shoot that cat. Thus, this is a time when we let the vet euthanize her. David left the room as he could not stay for this. I stayed yet did not watch. The vet told me what she did, i.e. put ?? into her vein and she went to sleep. No trauma for the cat; yet much for me and David. So I sure sympathize with others dealing with the death of their beloved animals, be they cats, goats, ferrets or other type.


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