Table 1. Summary table of the responses of three snake species to different anesthetic agents and different delivery systems. The mean induction and recovery times are given in minutes with the range given in parentheses. The sample sizes (N) and number of fatalities are indicated.
|
Species |
Delivery |
Agent |
N |
Induction |
Recovery |
Death |
|
Elaphe o. obsoleta |
Vaporizer |
Isoflurane |
105 |
18 (12-26) |
12 (1-31) |
0 |
|
Open |
Halothane |
7 |
29 (23-33) |
over 702 |
2 |
|
|
Methoxyflurane |
2 |
∞1 |
||||
|
Nerodia s. sipedon |
Open |
Halothane |
70 |
25 (20-45) |
402 |
4 |
|
Sistrurus c. catenatus |
Vaporizer |
Halothane |
36 |
38 (18-60) |
602 |
1 |
1 Black rat snakes never reached surgical anesthesia under methoxyflurane.
2 The response to halothane in the open technique or delivered with a vaporizer was highly variable for all snakes. Refer to text for details.