Okay, okay, okay... the mice.
Here's the deal about the mice. We bought eighteen mice several weeks ago for our experiment in biology, which we wrapped up last week with fourteen mice surviving. We were told we had three options: 1) talk to a guy about using our mice for his snake, 2) try and take the mice back to the store we got them from, or 3) kill the mice with carbon dioxide. Well, we tried to talk to Carson about his snake, but he never really got back to us, so that was out. Then none of us had the time for PetCo, and we weren't sure they would take them back anyway. With only two days left of school, it fell on me to make sure the mice were "taken care of." So I e-mailed Professor Hawke and made an appointment with him to gas the mice.
At 12:30 yesterday I went to Olin and with a heavy heart put all the surviving mice into a single cage. I went into Hawke's research room and wondered how things were gonna go... was I gonna cry? Feel sick? He pulled out this plastic jug with two tubes punched through the lid, and attached one of the tubes to a tank of carbon dioxide. Basically we were going to put the mice in the jug, seal it off, and then flood it with gas, and they would suffocate. It would be like a narcotic, he said. So I picked up two mice and put them into the jug, and then we closed the lid. I grabbed the non-attached hose and pinched it shut so no oxygen could get in, and crouched there on the floor nervously as he turned the crank, and carbon dioxide flooded into the jug.
It happened within a matter of seconds. The mice grew sluggish, their movements spasmodic; their chests started pumping air frantically, but it was obvious they were getting nothing. Within thirty seconds they had fallen over and were lying there, chests still moving but eyes vacant. Hawke pulled off the lid, went over to the trash, and dumped them in. I took a deep breath, and then started gathering the next four mice.
As soon as I dropped the first one in, it started gasping immediately from the carbon dioxide still in the jug. These four went even faster than the first two. I was surprised at how methodical I became about it, but maybe not too surprised; after all, I want to be a veterinarian, so I can't get too attached to my charges, or else euthanasia will be impossible.
The remaining eight mice went quickly, too, and we bagged them, and then I took the bag out to the Dumpster, and put them in.
So, that's how I killed fourteen mice. :-/
At 12:30 yesterday I went to Olin and with a heavy heart put all the surviving mice into a single cage. I went into Hawke's research room and wondered how things were gonna go... was I gonna cry? Feel sick? He pulled out this plastic jug with two tubes punched through the lid, and attached one of the tubes to a tank of carbon dioxide. Basically we were going to put the mice in the jug, seal it off, and then flood it with gas, and they would suffocate. It would be like a narcotic, he said. So I picked up two mice and put them into the jug, and then we closed the lid. I grabbed the non-attached hose and pinched it shut so no oxygen could get in, and crouched there on the floor nervously as he turned the crank, and carbon dioxide flooded into the jug.
It happened within a matter of seconds. The mice grew sluggish, their movements spasmodic; their chests started pumping air frantically, but it was obvious they were getting nothing. Within thirty seconds they had fallen over and were lying there, chests still moving but eyes vacant. Hawke pulled off the lid, went over to the trash, and dumped them in. I took a deep breath, and then started gathering the next four mice.
As soon as I dropped the first one in, it started gasping immediately from the carbon dioxide still in the jug. These four went even faster than the first two. I was surprised at how methodical I became about it, but maybe not too surprised; after all, I want to be a veterinarian, so I can't get too attached to my charges, or else euthanasia will be impossible.
The remaining eight mice went quickly, too, and we bagged them, and then I took the bag out to the Dumpster, and put them in.
So, that's how I killed fourteen mice. :-/