title: Standing sedation in captive zebra (Equus grevyi and Equus burchellii).
abstract: Nine Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi) and three Burchell's zebras (Equus burchellii) were immobilized in a standing position a total of 70 times for minor, nonpainful procedures over a 9-yr period. Standing sedation was successfully obtained with a combination of detomidine and butorphanol on 47 occasions (67.1%). Detomidine i.m. (median 0.10 mg/kg; range: 0.07-0.21) was administered by dart, followed 10 min later by butorphanol i.m. (median 0.13 mg/kg; range 0.04-0.24). The dosages were varied depending on the initial demeanor of the animal. On 23 occasions (32.9%), small amounts of etorphine (median 2.5 microg/kg; range 1.1-12.3 microg/kg) plus acepromazine (median 10 microg/kg; range 4.4-50 microg/kg) (as in Large Animal-Immobilon) had to be administered i.m. to gain sufficient sedation. In these latter cases, the animals were either excited or known for their aggressive character. The zebras were sufficiently immobilized for the length of most procedures (<45 min) without supplementation. At the end of the procedure, the animals were given atipamezole (2 mg per 1 mg detomidine used) and naltrexone (0.1 mg/kg) to reverse the sedative effects, irrespective of whether etorphine was used or not. Standing sedation, using the combination of the alpha-2 agonist detomidine and the partial agonist-antagonist opioid butorphanol (in some cases supplemented with etorphine + acepromazine), proved to be a very efficacious and safe method to be used in zebras under zoo conditions for short-lasting, nonpainful procedures.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Department of the Artis Royal Zoo, Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, 1018 CZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.hoyer@artis.nl
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoyer
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Verstappen
authors.forename: Marno
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolters
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D018397:Equidae / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives