Blue tongue lizard
7 September 2004 18:23![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
denI had to euthanase a blue tongue lizard today.
The lizard was handed to me in a box, and the bloke saidit had a cut on its tail. I thanked him and put the box somewhere cool to quieten the lizard a little before I handled it. As soon as I opened the box an hour later I could smell That Smell. "The cut on the tail" was, infact , a 5mm wide hole that opened into the lizard's abdomen, just before the left rear leg. The hole reeked, and was full of maggots.
Euthanasing a reptile is the single most brutal, disgusting thing a carer has to do. The problem is their metabolism. They can survive chloraform for over an hour, and leth-o-barb at the vet's can up to 30 minutes to kill them. Scientists have discovered that the brain can survive for 15 minutes after decapitation. There is only one way to euthanase a lizard or snake humanely: the brain has to be destroyed.
I carefully wrapped the lizard in some thin rag and placed it on the concrete. Then, with an axe, I decapitated it, and with the back of the axe I crushed the skull. It was brutal, bloody, and quick.
I hate having to kill things, but I really, really hate having to kill lizards.
The lizard was handed to me in a box, and the bloke saidit had a cut on its tail. I thanked him and put the box somewhere cool to quieten the lizard a little before I handled it. As soon as I opened the box an hour later I could smell That Smell. "The cut on the tail" was, infact , a 5mm wide hole that opened into the lizard's abdomen, just before the left rear leg. The hole reeked, and was full of maggots.
Euthanasing a reptile is the single most brutal, disgusting thing a carer has to do. The problem is their metabolism. They can survive chloraform for over an hour, and leth-o-barb at the vet's can up to 30 minutes to kill them. Scientists have discovered that the brain can survive for 15 minutes after decapitation. There is only one way to euthanase a lizard or snake humanely: the brain has to be destroyed.
I carefully wrapped the lizard in some thin rag and placed it on the concrete. Then, with an axe, I decapitated it, and with the back of the axe I crushed the skull. It was brutal, bloody, and quick.
I hate having to kill things, but I really, really hate having to kill lizards.
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no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 02:01 (UTC)Loved the picture of the dead mirage.
no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 03:15 (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 02:07 (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 03:05 (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 03:43 (UTC)*offers a hug, if it would help*
no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 05:15 (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 06:08 (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 06:39 (UTC)*hugs*
Strength
Date: 7 Sep 2004 07:24 (UTC)So many creatures are lucky there are people like you out there being you.
Have the best
no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 10:22 (UTC)I would to hate having to kill a lizard, even to ease its suffering. However, if faced with what you were faced with, I likely would have done the same thing as you did: to try and do it as quickly as possible.
no subject
Date: 7 Sep 2004 16:06 (UTC)===|==============/ Level Head
Bloody Hell...*HUGS*
Date: 8 Sep 2004 05:17 (UTC)I made an earlier comment about a more humane method using electricity. Did some follow-up research, and the documentation makes it quite clear: unless you've got a very specific apparatus for doing this specific job, then don't use it. It's too dangerous, and does not always finish the job. Sorry mate...