Animal Medicine, Production & Health, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy.
Veterinary Public Health Service, Local Health Authority 10, Firenze, Italy.
Vet Rec. 2019 Aug 3;185(5):145. doi: 10.1136/vr.105231. Epub 2019 Jul 10.
The European hedgehogs may require the use of chemical restraint for clinical examination because of their tendency to roll up as a defensive behaviour. This study evaluated the effects of alfaxalone combined with dexmedetomidine for restraint of hedgehogs undergoing pre-release health checks and atipamezole for recovery.Twenty hedgehogs received alfaxalone 2 mg/kg and dexmedetomidine 0.05 mg/kg intramuscularly in the quadriceps. If the righting reflex was still present, both drugs were administered at half of the initial doses. A semiquantitative scale scored sedation; clinical variables evaluated included pulse rate, respiratory rate, arterial haemoglobin oxygen saturation, end-tidal CO and body temperature.The righting reflex disappeared between 141 and 880 seconds. Overweight animals required one additional injection to achieve adequate relaxation. Pulse rate decreased during the procedure and increased after atipamezole administration. Respiratory rate and end-tidal CO did not change statistically throughout the procedure but one hedgehog showed haemoglobin oxygen saturation lower than 90%. Recovery after atipamezole was smooth and complete. Body temperature decreased over time.The sedation protocol may represent an effective combination to restrain European hedgehogs and atipamezole provides a rapid antagonism. Additional sedatives administration may be required in overweight animals and an external source of oxygen should be available.
欧洲刺猬在进行释放前健康检查时可能需要使用化学保定来进行临床检查，因为它们倾向于卷成一团作为一种防御行为。本研究评估了阿法沙龙联合右美托咪定用于限制刺猬和阿托咪酯用于恢复的效果。二十只刺猬在股四头肌中接受了 2 毫克/千克的阿法沙龙和 0.05 毫克/千克的右美托咪定。如果仍然存在翻正反射，则将两种药物的初始剂量减半给予。镇静作用采用半定量评分；评估的临床变量包括脉搏率、呼吸率、动脉血红蛋白氧饱和度、呼气末二氧化碳和体温。翻正反射在 141 至 880 秒之间消失。超重动物需要额外注射一次才能达到充分放松。在整个过程中，脉搏率在下降，在给予阿托咪酯后增加。呼吸率和呼气末二氧化碳在整个过程中没有统计学上的变化，但有一只刺猬的血红蛋白氧饱和度低于 90%。阿托咪酯恢复平稳而完全。体温随时间下降。镇静方案可能代表一种有效的组合，以限制欧洲刺猬，而阿托咪酯提供快速拮抗作用。超重动物可能需要额外的镇静剂给药，并且应该有外部氧气源。
