INTRAMUSCULAR ADMINISTRATION OF KETAMINE-MEDETOMIDINE ASSURES STABLE ANAESTHESIA NEEDED FOR LONG-TERM SURGERY IN THE ARGENTINE TEGU SALVATOR MERIANAE

Abstract:  To define a protocol of anesthesia for long-duration invasive surgery in a lizard, eight young adult Argentine tegus (Salvator merianae) of mean body weight 3.0 kg (interquartile range [IQR] 3.40–2.65) were anesthetized with a mixture of ketamine (K) and medetomidine (M) at 19°C, injected intramuscularly and equally distributed in the four limbs. As the experimental surgery procedure required a prolonged deep anesthesia with a good myorelaxation (between 16 and 21 hr), reinjections were required and reflexes were checked during surgery. Times for anesthetic induction, anesthetic reinjection, and recovery periods were recorded for five different combinations of ketamine-medetomidine: 1) 66 mg/kg K + 100 μg/kg M; 2) 80 mg/kg K + 100 μg/kg M; 3) 100 mg/kg K + 130 μg/kg M; 4) 125 mg/kg K + 200 μg/kg M; and 5) 150 mg/kg K + 200 μg/kg M. The effect on the recovery speed of the postoperative atipamezole injection was also evaluated. The median induction time was 30 (IQR 35–27.5) min with no statistica...