>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 hypothermia method is used for putting down fish, but if
done incorrectly, the fish will survive it.
And suffer more. I do not recommend trying it with a warm
blooded mammal.
Either you must be properly trained in the method of putting
the animal down correctly (difficult to find someone to teach
the correct method) or going to a veternarian for the overdose
of anesthetic that is commonly used.
>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
I don't suggest that the typical home hobbyist do their own
euthanasia. Leave it to the professionals. And as Lian has
mentioned, it is much harder to do it to your own pet.
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
