Anaesthesia of Tiletamine-Zolazepam-Xylazine and Ketamine-Xylazine in the Calf

Authors: NİHAT ŞINDAK, UĞUR FAHRİ YÜREKLİ, HASSAN SERTKAYA, MEHMET ŞAKAR

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the anaesthetic effects of combinations of tiletamine-zolazepam-xylazine and ketamine-xylazine. The study was performed on 12 clinically healthy 4-10-month-old Holstein calves. The calves were separated randomly into two equal groups: group I (tiletamine-zolazepam (4 mg/kg)-xylazine (0.1 mg/kg) group) and group II (ketamine (4 mg/kg) and xylazine (0.1 mg/kg) group). The anaesthetic agents were administered intravenously. Heart and respiratory rates first increased and then decreased; body temperature decreased in both groups. The anaesthetic took effect in an average of 2 min and the average duration of anaesthesia was 55 min in group I. On the other hand, it took effect in an average of 3 min and its average duration was 33 min in group II. In this study, there were no significant pre-, peri- or post-anaesthetic differences in the biochemical and haemotological parameters except for an increase in glucose. In conclusion, a combination of tiletamine-zolazepam-xylazine was more effective and had a longer duration of anaesthesia than ketamine-xylazine.

Keywords: Calf, tiletamine, zolazepam, xylazine, ketamine, anaesthesia

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