J Avian Med Surg
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Clinical Trial
The use of xylazine, ketamine, and isoflurane for induction and maintenance of anesthesia in ostriches (Struthio camelus).
To evaluate the use of xylazine/ketamine and isoflurane for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia in adult ostriches (Struthio camelus), 7 healthy adult ostriches (weight 100-130 kg) were deprived of food for 12 hours and then given an injection of xylazine (4 mg/kg IM), followed 20 minutes later by an injection of ketamine (8 mg/kg IV). After intubation, each bird was maintained on isoflurane anesthesia, and physiologic and hematologic parameters were measured. ⋯ Recovery from anesthesia was relatively smooth, with minimal complications, and was complete at mean (SD) 50 +/- 24 minutes after discontinuing isoflurane. From these results, we concluded that induction of anesthesia with xylazine-ketamine followed by maintenance with isoflurane produced sufficient anesthesia for performing surgical operations with relatively smooth recovery in adult ostriches.