Re: ga in reptiles and birdies

Maisy — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:32:35 GMT

There's quite a bit to know as there are different requirements for each depending upon what type of bird or reptile is being anaesthetised. This is especially the case for reptiles, but maintaining their PBT is a good start.

Birds:

Larger birds should be intubated where possible, and if the surgery is around the head area/respiratory obstruction then air sac catheterisation may be needed instead.

Positioning-remember birds don't have diaphragms, but when positioning dorsally (esp larger birds) raise their sternum up a little so that the abdominal contents aren't pressing on the lungs. Small birds like canaries/budgies don't have as much of a problem with this, but I prefer to err on the side of caution anyway.

Obviously regular monitoring as with any other animal. If being induced via a chamber/mask pre-oxygenation is important as is post op O2 therapy. Iso can cause respiratory depression in birds also and for longer GAs you may find that IPPV will need carrying out.

Hypothermia is a risk because of their size but hyperthermia can develop if you get too enthusiastic. If you have means of using a cloacal probe to monitor temp that is beneficial.

Get the bird eating asap because post op hypoglycaemia can develop .

There are a couple of good books for nursing exotics and they have detailed information on anaesthesia - the one by Simon Girling is very useful (Veterinary Nursing of Exotic Pets).