Association of midazolam with ketamine in giant Amazon river turtles Podocnemis expansa breed in captivity

Evaluate the effects of two anesthetic associations in giant Amazon river turtles (P. expansa). Twenty P. expansa, healthy, of both sexes, with weights between 1.0 and 1.5 kg of a commercial breeding facility located in the valley of the Araguaia River, Goiás, Brazil, were divided into two groups ( G1 n = 10 and G2 n = 10). Each group received a protocol being: P1 = midazolam (2 mg/kg IM) and ketamine (20 mg/kg IM) and P2 = midazolam (2 mg/kg IM) and ketamine (60 mg/kg IM), applied on G1 and G2, respectively. The drugs were applied in the left forelimb. The clinical parameters evaluated were: locomotion, muscle relaxation, response to pain stimuli in the right thoracic and pelvic members and heart rate. These assessments were made at time 0 (immediately after injection) and times of 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes after the injections. Group 2 showed a higher heart rate than G1 and more rapid and prolonged immobilization. The sedation scores obtained by these protocols (P1 and P2) were satisfactory, with possible pharmacological contention for collecting biological samples and physical examination in P. expansa.