The paca is a South American rodent whose handling, tranquilization or anesthesia …

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Biology Articles » Methods & Techniques » Handling of female pacas (Agouti paca, Linnaeus, 1766) for ultrasound pregnancy detection » Discussion

Discussion

- Handling of female pacas (Agouti paca, Linnaeus, 1766) for ultrasound pregnancy detection

The restraint was the most important factor to execute this experiment and required the use of different techniques so the work could be developed without accident risk⁵. As in other small rodents, the physical restraint was necessary and achieved by using a net attached to a wire loop and a squeeze cage³. Chemicals were also essential for a better handling^3,4,6,7.

General anesthesia was not necessary in the pacas for the employed handling, differently from the general recommendation for chemical restraint of South American rodents involving the taking of sedative and an a₂ agonist combined with an anticholinergic agent and a dissociate anesthetic^3,4 and differently from the employed handling in the short-tailed gray opossum to perform abdominal ultrasound exam aiming pregnancy detection, in which an inhalatory anesthesia was adopted⁸.

Both tranquillizers, diazepam and midazolam maleate, presented themselves effective in tranquilizing the pacas previously and during the ultrasound sessions, being the latter the one that facilitated a better handling, resulting a faster abdominal hair clipping, besides less vocalizations and less moving of the animals during sessions.