REPEATED ANESTHESIA in A BLACK RHINOCEROS (DICEROS BICORNIS) to MANAGE UPPER RESPIRATORY OBSTRUCTION

Ignacio Monge Mora, Jennifer N. Langan, Ryan S. Bailey, Copper Aitken-Palmer, Michael J. Adkesson, Karisa N. Tang, Christoph K. Chinnadurai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This report describes weekly repeated anesthesia in a 7-yr-old, 1,030 kg, female Eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli), that was immobilized six times using a combination of 2 mg etorphine (0.002 mg/kg), 5 mg medetomidine (0.005 mg/kg), 25 mg midazolam (0.024 mg/kg), and 300 mg ketamine (0.29 mg/kg) delivered intramuscularly (IM) via remote dart to facilitate long-term medical care of a bilateral, obstructive Actinomyces sp. rhinitis. The drug combination described in this study resulted in reliable, rapid recumbency of the animal within 2-8 min after initial administration via dart and produced deep anesthesia for 34-78 min without supplemental anesthetic administration. Antagonist drugs (100 mg naltrexone [0.1 mg/kg] and 25 mg atipamezole [0.024 mg/kg] IM) produced reliable and uneventful recoveries in all the procedures. During each anesthetic procedure, the animal was intubated and provided intermittent positive pressure ventilation with a megavertebrate demand ventilator. Tachycardia and hypoxia noted after induction resolved after positive pressure ventilation with oxygen. This report provides useful information on a novel anesthetic protocol used repeatedly for intensive medical management in a black rhinoceros.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1041-1046
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
Volume49
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018

Keywords

  • Chemical restraint
  • Diceros bicornis
  • etorphine
  • ketamine
  • medetomidine
  • midazolam
  • rhinoceros

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • General Veterinary

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'REPEATED ANESTHESIA in A BLACK RHINOCEROS (DICEROS BICORNIS) to MANAGE UPPER RESPIRATORY OBSTRUCTION'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this