Turtles are as friendly as a cat or dog. They like to be picked or fed directly from your hand. Fortunately, pet turtles can survive for more than a century. They have extraordinary passive defense power and their adaptation quality is superlative. The hard shell protects a turtle from injuries and elements. It is a natural shield, which keeps them protected from harsh elements.
Unfortunately, pet turtles can get sick due to vitamin A deficiency, shell infection, or parasite infection. A turtle that reveals deviation from normal means you need to take it to a veterinarian clinic ASAP. Some turtles get very sick and are unable to recover. You can feel the animal in chronic pain, but cannot give him comfort. The vet has done everything to correct the medical condition but failed. There comes a time when you start looking for ways to end its pain.
In the animal arena, euthanasia is the humane way to put an end to the suffering of any kind of pet. Humane means sympathy and compassion for another living being. In the animal kingdom, when applied euthanasia means ending an animal’s life with minimal suffering. It is painless for the suffering pet but hard for the parents.
For at home euthanasia NYC, you can contact Zen Dog Veterinary Care. There are several methods of euthanasia. In every method, a sedative is given to the turtle to calm it before performing actual euthanasia.
Fatal Injections
The most popular method is to use of a lethal injection. Dogs and cats take their last breath within minutes but a turtle can survive long without oxygen. However, anesthesia is used before administering the fatal injection, so technically the turtle will stay unconscious for long [before the last breath] but without any pain.
Pithing
It means destroying the brain by inserting a rod or needle via the back of its head or mouth. The heart will be beating but without brain function. It needs skill so that the pet will not feel any pain. Many expert groups suggest giving lethal injection and following up with pithing to ensure humane death.
Freezing
Freezing a turtle is more painful because ice crystals form in the tissue during the process. So it is not a humane euthanasia method. Until now, many people assumed that reptiles don’t feel, so it is a logical conclusion that freezing turtle to death is painless.
Decapitation
If you cannot get the turtle to a vet, decapitation is a way to put a box turtle to death. It is messy, but brings death quickly. In the decapitation process, the spinal cord is cut, so that brain cannot feel pain. However, cutting of spinal cord is not simple. You need a sharp knife and your pet will struggle to pull its head back within the shell. Imagine you are causing more pain than fatal injection and pithing.
Gassing
Fill a box with carbon monoxide, which causes unconsciousness and ultimately death. For small animals, this is humane, but not for box turtles as they can survive without oxygen for hours. It can possibly take hours for the turtle to die.
It is better to approach www.zendogvet.net instead of choosing a random way but offer your friend a humane death.
