Premium
Immobilising free‐ranging Alpine chamois with xylazine, reversed with atipamezole
Author(s) -
Dematteis A.,
Rossi L.,
Canavese G.,
Menzano A.,
Meneguz P. G.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.163.6.184
Subject(s) - atipamezole , xylazine , sedation , anesthesia , zoology , chemistry , medicine , endocrinology , biology , medetomidine , ketamine , heart rate , blood pressure
Between 1996 and 2005, 215 free‐ranging Alpine chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ) were immobilised with xylazine hydrochloride. The 110 male and 105 female animals received a mean (sd) dose of 2·5 (0·6) mg/kg with a range from 1·4 to 4·8 mg/kg. The immobilisation was reversed in 201 of the animals with an intramuscular injection of 0·3 (0·1) mg/kg atipamezole (range 0·03 to 0·76 mg/kg), corresponding to a mean ratio of atipamezole:xylazine of 1:9·4 (4·3). All the chamois were immobilised, but shorter induction and recovery times, and deeper sedation with no reactions to handling were obtained in more than 80 per cent of the animals with doses of 2·6 to 3·6 mg/kg of xylazine, reversed with 0·26 to 0·36 mg/kg atipamezole (a ratio of 1:10), injected within 90 minutes.