Anesthesia of Tibetan yak (Bos grunniens) using thiafentanil - xylazine and carfentanil - xylazine.
The use of 0.025 +/- 0.012 mg/kg (median +/- interquartile range) thiafentanil with 0.15 +/- 0.03 mg/kg xylazine (TX) and 0.011 +/- 0.0015 mg/kg carfentanil with 0.25 +/- 0.093 mg/kg xylazine (CX), with dosages based on estimated bodyweight, was used in the anesthesia of 37 Tibetan yak (Bos grunniens) housed within a drive-through animal park setting. The median time to lateral recumbency was 5 and 7 min for each group, respectively. With the addition of propofol in 8 CX animals and 17 TX animals, the anesthetic plane was suitable for a wide range of procedures. The median time to standing recovery following administration of naltrexone was 4 +/- 3.5 min with TX and 7 +/- 1.5 min with CX. There was one fatality and one case of renarcotization in the TX group. Overall, the dosages used in the study provided a reliable and useful anesthetic induction protocol, with TX animals demonstrating a more rapid induction and recovery with less cardiac depression than CX animals.
Wildlife Safari, 1790 Safari Road, P.O. Box 1600, Winston, Oregon 97496, USA. a.c.cushing@hotmail.co.uk
Andrew
A
Cushing
Modesto
M
McClean
Michael
M
Stanford
Tessa
T
Lohe
Benjamin E
BE
Alcantar
Andrea Denise
AD
Chirife
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000662:veterinary*; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005283:Fentanyl / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014991:Xylazine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
C447560:A3080; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D014991:Xylazine; C017114:carfentanil; D005283:Fentanyl