To sedate rats - What do I use? (Jul/17/2008 )

Dear all,

I'm searching for protocols to sedate rats but most serve the purpose of euthanasia. I still need them so I can't kill them. If I were to use ether or chloroform, how much do I need to use so as to ensure they wake up again.

Thanks.

It is difficult to use ether for that big animal. You can inject phenobarbital.

Thanks chessplayer and NTH. I shall ask around for the compounds named by you both. Hope its affordable.

I was assuming you only need to put down the rats for a couple minutes for IV injection, blood sampling, or gavage feeding, and the likes, since you mentioned ether and chloroform. If you are doing surgery, you may use Ketamine/Xylazine or phenobarbital, but the latter is a controlled substance.

use a hammer

I use ketamine/xylazine cocktail to sedate them while I perform surgery on them.

Alternatively, you may consider using chloral hydrate,which is cheaper.

LOL, do you ppl have animal protocols pre-approved before doing any experiment?

I like injections. Isofluran kills rats easily if you dont control the % of mixture in the air.

Injection is for surgery. If you need to put down the rat for a couple of minutes, such as gavage feeding or blood sampling, definitely use isofluran. Use this protocol and you won't kill it.

1) put a gauze pad covered with a wire mesh at the bottom of a 500-ml wide-mouth glass jar in a fume hood;

2) add 2 ml of 30% v/v isoflurane in propylene glycol to the gauze;

3) put the rat in the jar and quickly close the lid;

4) Remove the rat from the jar when it is down in 1-2 minutes;

5) complete your injection or feeding, return the rat to its cage, and it will wake up in 2 minutes.

Hi all,
i was looking to sedate nude mice for over 30mins(transport and imaging in another facility) for imaging purposes. since we dont have a integrated sedator and imager. what can be done for such a case?
best regards