Immobilization of white‐tailed deer with telazol, ketamine, and xylazine, and evaluation of antagonists

Abstract

Telazol–xylazine and ketamine–xylazine are versatile and safe drug combinations that are used frequently for chemical immobilization of cervids. Although neither combination consistently offers rapid induction and recovery, we hypothesized that a combination of Telazol, ketamine, and xylazine (TKX) would provide a safe and effective alternative for immobilization of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). During a 2‐stage study, we evaluated the effectiveness of yohimbine and tolazoline as alpha2‐adrenergic antagonists (2005–2006), and characterized the factors that affected chemical immobilization of male deer with a targeted dose of telazol (2.20 mg/kg), ketamine (1.76 mg/kg), and xylazine (0.44 mg/kg), using explosive‐charged darts (2007–2010). During the first stage, we randomly assigned deer to antagonist treatments, including a control group that did not receive an antagonist (n = 8), a tolazoline (4 mg/kg) treatment (n = 16), and a yohimbine (0.11 mg/kg) treatment (n = 15). Recovery times $({\bar {x}}\pm {\rm SE)}$ were longer (P = 0.0013) for control (150.6 ± 21.7 min) and yohimbine (74.5 ± 13.1 min), compared with tolazoline (12.5 ± 12.3 min). Tolazoline resulted in faster and more complete recovery compared with the frequent incomplete antagonism and ataxia observed with yohimbine. During the second stage, 56 immobilization events (2007–2010) with TKX yielded a mean induction time of 7.8 minutes (SE = 0.44). Repeated‐measures analyses indicated that induction and recovery were affected by body weight, with larger males taking longer to become recumbent (P = 0.08), but they recovered more rapidly (P = 0.003) following administration of tolazoline. Physiological parameters we measured under anesthesia were within normal ranges for white‐tailed deer; however, initial temperature was higher (β = −0.86) for younger males (P = 0.014). Final physiological parameters were closely related to initial measurements, with rectal temperature being the most preserved (β = 0.90); heart and respiration rate declined (β < 0.60) during anesthesia. Our results indicate that TKX may be useful for chemically immobilizing white‐tailed deer, and we recommend tolazoline as an antagonist for xylazine. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

One in the Hand Worth Two in the Bush? Reproductive Effort of Young Males Is Not Affected by the Presence of Adult Males

“…Nevertheless, in 2010-2011, we also immobilized males in mid-December to quantify change in nutritional condition during the rut and determine post-rut hormone levels. We chemically immobilized males by remote delivery of a combination of telazol, ketamine, and xylazine and antagonized with tolazoline (Monteith et al, 2012). While immobilized, we determined nutritional condition of each male using ultrasonography.…”

“…Because rump fat thickness was >0.3 cm, body condition scores were not necessary to estimate ingesta-free body fat (Cook et al, 2007). Given their similarities in morphology and fat deposition, we assumed that equations developed to estimate ingesta-free body fat (IFBFat) for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) would be sufficient for white-tailed deer (Monteith et al, 2012). Therefore, we used a combination of body mass and rump fat thickness to estimate scaled IFBFat (Cook et al, 2010).…”

Efeitos da associação de azaperone e xilazina em veados-mateiros (<i>Mazama americana</i>) mantidos em cativeiro

“…Entretanto, há relatos de que o uso de doses acima de 1 mg/kg promovem sedação de cervídeos norte-americanos de maneira superficial e, assim, os animais tendem a se recuperar repentinamente quando estimulados, não permitindo sua manipulação de maneira adequada (CAULKETT, 1997;KREEGER;SOVERI, 2003). Além disso, os efeitos indesejáveis decorrentes da sua utilização são dose-dependentes, o que, somado à necessidade de sedações confiáveis de animais tão facilmente estressáveis, justifica sua preferência pelo uso em associação com outros fármacos (ANCRENAZ, 1994;CAULKETT, 1997;MONTEITH et al, 2012).…”

“…Dentre os agonistas alfa 2 adrenérgicos mais utilizados para contenção química em cervídeos estão a xilazina (KLEIN; KLIDE, 1989;CAULKETT, 1997;CATETT et al, 2004) e a medetomidina (MICH et al, 2008;SIEGAL-WILLOT et al, 2009) e os principais antagonistas são a ioimbina, a tolazolina e o atipamezole (ROSATTE, 2007;MONTEITH et al, 2012;SENTE et al, 2014). Cabe ressaltar que esses fármacos podem agir em receptores alfa 2 e alfa 1 a depender da sua seletividade para tais receptores.…”

“…As doses utilizadas variam de 0,5 a 3 mg/kg, a depender da espécie de cervídeo, da via administrada, da potência de sedação pretendida e da associação ou não a outros fármacos (CAULKETT, 1997), lembrando que em doses elevadas a xilazina pode causar efeitos excitatórios e aumento de atividade locomotora por ação em receptores alfa 1 (PYPENDOP, 2005). Entretanto a associação a outros fármacos e a possibilidade de reversão tornam seu uso relativamente seguro, especialmente para contenção química de cervídeos (ANCRENAZ, 1994;CAULKETT, 1997;MONTEITH et al, 2012).…”