title: Chemical Immobilization of Sloth Bears (Melursus ursinus) with Ketamine Hydrochloride and Xylazine Hydrochloride: Hematology and Serum Biochemical Values.
abstract: The present study was conducted to define the physiological responses of captive sloth bears immobilized with ketamine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride and to determine and compare the values of hematology and serum biochemical parameters between sexes. A total of 15 sloth bears were immobilized using combination of ketamine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride drugs at the dose rate of 5.0 milligram (mg) per kg body weight and 2.0 mg per kg body weight, respectively. The use of combination of these drugs was found satisfactory for the chemical immobilization of captive sloth bears. There were no significant differences observed in induction time and recovery time and physiological parameters such as heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature between sexes. Health related parameters comprising hematological values like packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell count (RBC), erythrocyte indices, and so forth and biochemical values like total protein, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, alkaline amino-transferase (ALT), aspartate amino-transferase (AST), and so forth were estimated in 11 (5 males and 6 females) apparently healthy bears. Comparison between sexes revealed significant difference in PCV (P < 0.05) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (P < 0.05). The study might help to evaluate health profiles of sloth bears for appropriate line treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wild Life Science, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai 600 007, India ; Veterinary University Training and Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Salem 636 001, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veeraselvam
authors.affiliation: Department of Wild Life Science, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai 600 007, India ; Department of Veterinary Pathology, Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS, Chennai 600 007, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sridhar
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre on Mithun, ICAR, Jharnapani, Nagaland 797106, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perumal
authors.affiliation: Department of Wild Life Science, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai 600 007, India.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Jayathangaraj