Nele Sabbe, [28 Apr 2025 at 09:26:12]: Hi, what HH (low opioid protocol) dose would you give a adult giraffe bull to treat a foot with a snare on? Erik Verrynne, [28 Apr 2025 at 09:34:55]: Hi Nele. I use their size as a guideline. A 4 m - 4.5 m bull, I will give Thianil 3-4 mg + medetomidine 4-4.5 mg. You can apparently go lower on the Thianil and higher on the medetomidine, but this dose works for me. You still need to watch out for kicking you though. Nele Sabbe, [28 Apr 2025 at 09:39:18]: Thanks. For giraffes with foot problems, I like to give just opioid as they get up much steadier, but the kicking is too dangerous. Do you reverse any of the products immediately, or do you first finish your job before reversing medetomidine and Thianil at the same time? Erik Verrynne, [28 Apr 2025 at 09:44:11]: They are stable enough with the mixture to first remove the snare. Then you can reverse both together. The respiratory suppression is much reduced with the low Thianil, so breathing remains deep - even for loading, I find it working well. I reverse with naltrexone and atipamezole iv and then give them a few minutes to find their feet. Same as with Thianil only, when you remove the blindfold, give them time to get used to the light with minimal disturbance.
