Flavored, Medicated “Candy” for Sedation of Apes

   Zoos commonly need to find creative ways to medicate animals, to minimize the risk to animal and keeper. Compounding pharmacists often work with zoo veterinarians and animal caregivers to prepare customized, flavored dosage forms that animals willingly accept and consume.  For example, at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, researchers wanted to know if apes would accept a sedative in the form of a lollipop. Three species of great ape, including eight orangutans, nine chimpanzees, and two gorillas, were trained to accept and suck slowly on a piece of placebo candy, given as a treat, after an overnight fast. The animals were then given the actual medication in the form of a lollipop to determine if the sedative would be effective and could therefore be used prior to an actual procedure. As the animal was effectively sedated, plasma levels were able to be obtained, providing useful information on the duration of action of the medication and safety in apes. 

   At the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, sedative medication has been administered in the form of a flavored treat to eliminate the need for darting (shooting the animal with a dart to administer medication by injection) and minimize stress on chimpanzees who required anesthesia.

   These are just two examples of how compounded medications can simplify animal care. Please contact  Pharmacy Innovations with your medication challenges! Questions are always welcome. Please click This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to contact us.
 
Copyright 2006, Storey Marketing - Veterinary Website Updates. All rights reserved. Questions regarding this article should be directed to the compounding professionals at Pharmacy Innovations.