The deep-freeze is probably be quite painless once the gerbil was succumbing to hypothermia... but it would take a few minutes (I would think!) while the gerbil was still alert... I probably wouldn't do this just because of the stress to myself... I'd keep peeking in there to see how it was going... Another point is that, in the late stages of hypothermia, an animal can look dead but still be alive... there have been recent cases in my hometown where people nearly froze to death, their hearts stopped and their limbs even partially froze, but when they were warmed up (and given medical attention), they were still alive.... don't know if you'd want to take that chance with a gerbil...
The only time I've had a gerbil put down, the animal technician at the lab where I used to work did it for me... using an overdose of anaesthetic. I felt that was a fairly good method. It is a very simple thing to do, but I agree that it might not always be the best for people to do it themselves, because of the worry of not getting it right, and just the stress of doing it to one's own pet...
Lian
Blackums clan
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