Manuel MORICI, Emanuele LUBIAN, Giovanna Lucrezia COSTA, Filippo SPADOLA

Difference between Cranial and Caudal Intravenous Alfaxalone Administration in Yellow-Bellied Sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta)

This study aimed to compare the hypnotic and muscle relaxanteffects of alfaxalone administered IV in 2 different sites,namely cranial and caudal. A total of 20 healthy adult yellow-bellied sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta) were randomlyassigned to 1 of the 2 groups. In the first group, the drug wasadministered through the cervical dorsal sinus; in the secondgroup, the drug was administered through the coccygeal vein.A dose of 5 mg/kg of alfaxalone was used for each turtle. Inductiontime (IT), tracheal tube insertion time (TTiT), surgicalplane of anesthesia (SPA), and full recovery time (FR) were recorded.The quality of sedation (SS) was recorded as the anesthesiascore from 0 to 4. In the first group, mean IT was within.68 ± .37 minutes. The mean TTiT was within 1.04 ± .60 minutes.The time of SPA was on average 23.82 ± 6.47 minutes, andFR occurred on average of 30.12 ± 9.52 minutes. The mean SSachieved was 4.9 ± .32. In the second group, mean IT was within4.63 ± 4.44 minutes. The mean TTiT was within 6.83 ± 6.75minutes. The time of SPA was on 22.27 ± 4.66 minutes, and FRoccurred at 27.97 ± 6.76 minutes. The mean SS achieved was3.3 ± .82. We believe that caudal intravenous administrationof alfaxalone can be performed without risk, but an increaseddose is required for anesthesia when caudal vessels are used.

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