Putting Gecko Out Of Its misery.

[freshprince2146]

One of my friends actually has a young Leopard Gecko who is very sick to the point of no return. It is dying slowly at this point and her vet told her that there is nothing that he could do put euthanize the gecko. This would cost my friend 100$ at her local vet. What are some other safer methods to put a leopard gecko out of its misery. And that would not hurt the animal either.

Any feed back would be appreciated.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Honestly death hurts regardless of how you cull them. This has been a highly debated topic on the forum on several different threads and I believe if I remember correctly the most effective, least painful ways were (and excuse my bluntness) smashing it's head with a blunt object. Let me see if I can find the post for you.

Ok here was one of them http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=69555&highlight=culling

and another: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=66384&highlight=culling

one more: http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=53605&highlight=culling

 

[sausage]

Honestly death hurts regardless of how you cull them. This has been a highly debated topic on the forum on several different threads and I believe if I remember correctly the most effective, least painful ways were (and excuse my bluntness) smashing it's head with a blunt object. Let me see if I can find the post for you.

OMG that is unbelievably horrible!!! just reading it sent shivers down my spine! how would you like it if some one hit you in the head with a brick or somthing!!! i dont see how any one could do some of those things.

sod the $100 just let the vet do it. off to sleep painlessly. iv lost count how many times iv said to people that if you take on any animal you have take on the responsibility to supply adequate vet treatment when needed.
what happens if you dont do it rite or it just dosnt die first time, how could you live with your self knowing you have just doubled its pain and suffering!!!! :main_no:

I earn minimum wage which isnt atall much in england and yet i just couldnt let mine suffer. shes cost me over £300 so far! I cant afford it but it needs to be done. http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70292

 

[fuzzylogix]

if you don't want to feed the baby off to a larger lizard, etc, simply put it in a ziploc container and place it in the fridge for a while, then to the freezer

 

[T-ReXx]

Honestly death hurts regardless of how you cull them. This has been a highly debated topic on the forum on several different threads and I believe if I remember correctly the most effective, least painful ways were (and excuse my bluntness) smashing it's head with a blunt object. Let me see if I can find the post for you.

OMG that is unbelievably horrible!!! just reading it sent shivers down my spine! how would you like it if some one hit you in the head with a brick or somthing!!! i dont see how any one could do some of those things.


http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70292

Actually if someone smashed your skull and brain you would die instantly and there wouldn't be a matter of how you felt about it. Out of the many ways to go, it's pretty quick and painless compared to most. Seems brutal but it's very effective and humane. How do you think beef cattle are killed? a killing bolt fired directly at the skull, in essence, a sharp blow destroying the brain, same concept.

 

[Dog Shrink]

OMG that is unbelievably horrible!!! just reading it sent shivers down my spine! how would you like it if some one hit you in the head with a brick or somthing!!! i dont see how any one could do some of those things. shes cost me over £300 so far! I cant afford it but it needs to be done. http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70292

I'm sorry if putting it that way offended or upset you but there really was/is no nicer way of putting it. It is what it is unfortunately. If you read the thread links I posted you will see it is mentioned often. Not everyone has $100, I know I certainly wouldn't, to put an animal down now days even if it is supposedly the least painful way altho I can't imagine getting shot up with enough barbituate (I believe it's a barbituate) to kill you or stop your heart is any kind of pleasant. If you have ever witnessed a dog being put down you would see that euth. even with the proper drugs can still be unplesant. Imo veterinary treatment for a medical illness where the animal has a chance at recovery is entirely different from the aspect of an animal is dieing a slow painful death and money simply is not available for this. The op's friend has taken the animal to a vet and was told there is simply no hope. Altho I do commend you for doing all you have for your leo.

For Fuzzy, please read the threads I posted as they mention repeatedly that freezing is a horribly painful way to die for a herp.

T-Rexx thank you for your imput.

Unfortunately when you have/breed/raise pets, esp. "lesser" pets like lizards, rabbits, mice etc. it is simply sometimes illogical, expensive and unrealistic to go to a vet any time one needs put down. I know if I did that with my rabbitry I'd be broke. Maybe because I do raise rabbits that has hardened me a little bit to the fact that death/euth. is simply a part of the process.

For the op I am truly sorry your friend is in this position. It is never an easy subject to deal with. I hope that they can make the best decision for themselves and their conscience.

 

[fuzzylogix]

if you put them in the fridge, they basically go to sleep, then putting them in the freezer will completely stop their heart and brain functions and they will die. i don't know about you, but i've never heard of a gecko telling anyone they were in horrible pain by being placed in the freezer. if you aren't willing to have it sedated and euthanized at the vet's office, like tony you could always use a co2 chamber. i have larger lizards that would gladly take a baby leo, but i personally wouldn't want to watch that. it's more about what you are comfortable with rather than what's the right way.

 

[JordanAng420]

it's more about what you are comfortable with rather than what's the right way.

I agree.

 

[5HiddenLizards]

What is the lizard dying of? Is it parasitic? If so I'm sure that feeding it to a larger lizard would put it in danger catching the parasite?
Honestly, that I could do, as long as I knew that the smaller lizard wasn't gonna make my larger lizard sick. I've seen the way my monitor watches my 10in leo in his tank from across the room. I'm sure he'd eat him if he could.

But back to the other culling process, when refrigerating them & then freezing them, is there no pain felt? They don't wake up in the freezer briefly?

 

[Dog Shrink]

if you put them in the fridge, they basically go to sleep, then putting them in the freezer will completely stop their heart and brain functions and they will die. i don't know about you, but i've never heard of a gecko telling anyone they were in horrible pain by being placed in the freezer. if you aren't willing to have it sedated and euthanized at the vet's office, like tony you could always use a co2 chamber. i have larger lizards that would gladly take a baby leo, but i personally wouldn't want to watch that. it's more about what you are comfortable with rather than what's the right way.

I went back and re-read a lot of the posts where freeezing was indicated as a humane way of euth'ing a leo and apparently I mis-processed some of the info I had taken in on the matter. According to semus in post 24 of the first link I posted apparently he did some rather complete studies on how it affects leos/reptiles and found it to be a rather humane way to euth if it was needed. It was the AVMA that cited it as inhumane. It's a highly intersting read for those interested in learning the process. Sorry for my mistake.

 

[fuzzylogix]

hey, no biggie. i was a mess the first time i had to do it. but my feelings are that if you are prepared to breed, you have to be prepared to cull

 

[Dog Shrink]

hey, no biggie. i was a mess the first time i had to do it. but my feelings are that if you are prepared to breed, you have to be prepared to cull

Tell me about it... try culling when it's an adorable lil 1 week old rabbit. It's never easy, that's why I'm thankful for my friend's snake and my former Marine husband. Neither seem to discriminate too much when the job needs done. I hope the op's friend finds a way that they're comfortable with.

 

[Adinar]

One of my friends actually has a young Leopard Gecko who is very sick to the point of no return. It is dying slowly at this point and her vet told her that there is nothing that he could do put euthanize the gecko. This would cost my friend 100$ at her local vet. What are some other safer methods to put a leopard gecko out of its misery. And that would not hurt the animal either.

Any feed back would be appreciated.

It seems a little odd that the price would be that high to have the poor thing euthanized at the vet's office. When we had several sick with possible crypto (and trust me, we did EVERYTHING) we had them all done and they were just $35 a piece. The vet explained it was because the amount of chemicals used was so little is why the cost was so low comapired to a larger animal. Granted that is our vet.

And reading the other posts, I know it would be hard if I was faced with such a decision. But in the end I believe I would probably do the fridge method as well if it came down to it. Cease the animals suffering or let it go and be in pain to ease you own stress over having to do it. Not worth it IMO.

I'm sorry your friend has to deal with such a difficult decision, but whatever you have to do, you have to do.

 

[M_surinamensis]

OMG that is unbelievably horrible!!! just reading it sent shivers down my spine! how would you like it if some one hit you in the head with a brick or somthing!!! i dont see how any one could do some of those things.

They can do those things because they believe that doing the right thing for their animal, ending suffering when it is present, is more important than their own distaste for the act. If an animal is hurting and that hurt cannot be healed, can't be fixed; it can still be stopped. When the choice is between letting it die slowly, in constant pain or killing it quickly, the fast option is the merciful one.

Nobody likes doing it. It feels terrible, each and every single time. We do it anyway though, because it's right. Because it is better for the animal to ignore our feelings and our hesitation and our squeamishness in favor of what is best for them. It's selfish, to keep something alive and in pain just because we don't want to let it go, it's keeping them for your own sake, ignoring the animal's suffering because you feel guilty about ending it.

According to semus in post 24 of the first link I posted apparently he did some rather complete studies on how it affects leos/reptiles and found it to be a rather humane way to euth if it was needed. It was the AVMA that cited it as inhumane. It's a highly intersting read for those interested in learning the process. Sorry for my mistake.

Not a study. Not even close to a study. Observational evidence sufficient to lead me to a tentative conclusion on the subject which happens to differ with the stance of the AVMA.

I don't have the equipment, funding, time or inclination to actually do a study on the subject. It would require neural mapping and then the euthanasia of hundreds of animals in multiple control groups.

All I've got is about a dozen instances of observation specific to the method compared to other techniques and a little bit of time watching reptiles behave.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Thank you for the clarification. Maybe "study" wasn't the best word to use, it was a presumption of mine based on your statement of having observed, noted, etc. the effects of that particular euth. method. Sorry for my mis-wording. When I said study I didn't intend to infer the actual use of equipment, control groups, etc. It was moreso a general term for the observations you had done thus far.

 

[Gregg M]

OMG that is unbelievably horrible!!! just reading it sent shivers down my spine! how would you like it if some one hit you in the head with a brick or somthing!!! i dont see how any one could do some of those things.

How would I feel if someone smashed me in the head with a brick or something??? I do not think I would feel much of anything actually.

We cull because it needs to be done... How it is done is not very important as long as it is done quickly and as humanely as possible...

sod the $100 just let the vet do it. off to sleep painlessly. iv lost count how many times iv said to people that if you take on any animal you have take on the responsibility to supply adequate vet treatment when needed.

What makes you think a vet will do it any more painlessly than you or I would do it... How do they do it at a vet... An injection, correct??? Ok, how would you feel if someone stuck the equivalent of a fence post into your chest and pumped you full of toxins??? I would take the blunt force trama thanks...

Also, vet treatment is very different from being killed at the vet...

what happens if you dont do it rite or it just dosnt die first time, how could you live with your self knowing you have just doubled its pain and suffering!!!! :main_no:

You really cant mess that up to be honest... And in reality, you have not doubled its pain and suffering...

I earn minimum wage which isnt atall much in england and yet i just couldnt let mine suffer. shes cost me over £300 so far! I cant afford it but it needs to be done. http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70292

What does this have to do with the topic??? Your gecko suffered superficial wounds during breeding and she is being treated for them... They may seem really bad to you but trust me, that is nothing that can not heal on its own... I have seen far worse... Try breeding monitors... LOL

 

[JordanAng420]

For the record, I worked for a vet that used to allow me to decapitate beardie hatchlings that hatched with deformities or illnesses. Quick procedure, the animal dies almost immediately, and there is less mess to deal with than there is with the "smashing" technique.

 

[T-ReXx]

Another point: C02 chambers are very tricky with reptiles. They have extremely slow metabolism and are capable of holding their breath for long periods of time. Not saying it doesn't work, just that it takes a very long time and lots of exposure to ensure the animal is actually dead.

I also am a bit surprised at that price, we don't even charge that much for large dog euthanasias at work. Might be pricier because it's an exotic, but I'd shop around at a different vet, that price is pretty ridiculous for a procedure that's so simple and small.

Personally, I use either feeding to another animal or cervical dislocation as my culling method of choice. For rodents I use a gas chamber.

 

[ChlonnsReps1]

I'm glad you guys were helpful!

 

[Dog Shrink]

I'm glad you wern't offended by any of the suggested methods of euth. Hows your friend making out with their decision if I may ask? I know it certainly can't be an easy one.