A butane lighter refill can would be much cheaper and will work just as well in the same setup (being careful not to set light to it, of course).
Butane does not cause any great discomfort when breathed in (stupid kids huff it to get high) - and it will asphyxiate the subject by excluding oxygen (in fact, a few people die accidentally each year from inhaling it)
I can’t believe somebody did an entire website on this topic.
One way I would do it (squashing it with my boot) is the way they say not to do it, but then show how it’s done. Go figure. This technique works on squirrels, too.
They show a metal live trap. You could use that and hook up some electrical wire or jumper cables. Works on squirrels I can tell you that!
Drowning sounds cruel, but if you hold it to the bottom of a water filled bucket with a rake handle or baseball bat death will come in about 10-15 seconds. At least it does for squirrels. Chasing it around with a hose and spraying it in the face takes longer but accomplishes the same thing. At least it does for squirrels.
You got any squirrels that need killing?
Can’t you call around to different vets? Seriously, this is really, really disturbing.
Does not work. Tried on multiple occasions. You would have to rig something more like a suicide bag.
This whole thread sounds like a training forum for wanna-be serial killers getting their first taste with killing small animals.
No it doesn’t. And I think people might be more apt to point out how silly all this is if a child wasn’t involved. Killing a rodent isn’t rocket science for kripes sake.
The $120 thing actually made me laugh outloud! I gotta wonder if that vet wasn’t screwing with the OP.
Yes, it does. 
If it did, we would talking about which is best: hammer or blowtorch.
It absolutely breaks my heart watching one of these little guys go, and as a responsible pet owner dating a somewhat less responsible pet owner, I have had to do it a lot.
Oh, this reminds me of the best option for taking care of them. Take them to the local injured birds of prey center. They like donations, and the one I had used inert gas. Of course this is only for relatively healthy animals (when you have finally had enough and must get rid of all the males to stop the madness from continuing).
Well other than the blowtorch, this thread has covered hammers, suffocation, drowning, crushing, gassing, neck-breaking, shooting, freezing…I can’t remember if beheading has been thrown out there yet, but I’m sure some other Dahlmer aspire will come along soon suggest burning.
Cutting the head off is really the most humane way, if you’ve got a rodent guillotine.
I did employ one back in my research days as a undergrad, and it was quite the device. We had a good 40 rats to dispatch, and tried both the hypoxia and ether methods without success to kindly put them down, before deciding that lopping the head off was really most merciful.
And frankly, from my perspective of 3 decades of treating humans of all ages in pain, misery and suffering and trying to ameliorate same (or ease their dying in hospice if that’s not possible), quickly dispatching a rodent that needs to die with a well-placed shovel blow troubles me not at all.
What happens if you botch it, though? Then it just makes it worse.
Perhaps an animal shelter would be able to help out?
Well a second whack normally takes care of it.
A well placed shovel blow wouldn’t bother me, either. It is my daughter I’m worried about. She is a touch sensitive and I think she’ll want a pretty corpse to bury.
It would seem my best option at this point is CO2. A friend has offered his pellet gun, which I might go with if I can convince my daughter it is the most humane want to put the hamster down.
buy some whipped cream chargers, the ones filled with nitrous oxide that people use to get high
put him in some sort of mostly airtight container and fill it, nitrous oxide is a strong aesthetic and asyphixiant so it’ll be painless
Commercial break:
New, from RONCO. The rodent guillotine.
And it really, really works!
Sorry, couldn’t resist. 
Despite responses saying that would not be particularly humane?
Looking for a leak in one of my co2 lines I stuck my head into the converted freezer we use as a kegorator for our beer. Extreme burning in my lungs and about 30 seconds later I suddenly passed out very briefly. I only took one breath.
Yes - “extreme burning for 30 seconds” and “humane” don’t traditionally go together.
Seriously, why won’t you at least call around for other options before resorting to DIY?
Say it with me:
SET IT AND FORGET IT!!!