Ben Potgieter, [27 Aug 2024 at 20:33:28]: Evening. Can someone advise on dart dosage and protocols for adult tsessebe. The transport will be about 8-12 hours. Jacs Mostert, [28 Aug 2024 at 05:47:23]: Here in Zimbabwe, we keep it simple. For cows, we use between 3-4 mg etorphine + 30-40 mg azaperone depending on size and condition. For bulls, anything between 4-5mg etorphine + 40-50mg azaperone depending on size and condition. For transport, we use 12 mg haloperidol for cows and 14mg (sometimes up to 16 mg) for bulls. I give 8-10mg diazepam if there are signs of overdose. We do transport them together, but we make sure their horns are covered with inner tubing or pipes (which must be properly secured). They don't always adapt well to new areas, and they don't do well in boma confinement, and as a result, we do not keep them in boma except sometimes for a short period if a semi-soft release is required. Pierre Nel, [28 Aug 2024 at 06:33:57]: Giving them the diazepam in any case will save you the odd extrapyramidal reaction ( from the azaperone & haloperidol combination) and calm them even better. If extrapyramidal signs are induced, they tend go more berserk, compared to more symptoms such as pacing, allotriophagy and vocalisation that we commonly see in other species. Neil Parsons, [28 Aug 2024 at 07:51:15]: For Zambian tsessebe, we use 1 mg Thianil, 2-3 mg medetomidine and 10-15 azaperone. 10-20 mg of perphenazine hydrochloride (WBP) for transport seems to work well. Ben Potgieter, [29 Aug 2024 at 17:05:08] Thanks for the tsessebe doses. Gernot Redeker, [29 Aug 2024 at 17:23:22]: I use 1.5 mg Thianil + 4 mg medetomidine + 20 mg azaperone for big bulls, and 20 mg WBP for transport. For cows, I use 1 mg Thianil + 3 mg medetomidine and 20 mg azaperone. I also use 20 mg WBP for them. Ulf Tubessing, [29 Aug 2024 at 17:29:47]: 20 WBP works well in transport. I loaded an adult bull alone and equal age females and youngsters 2/compartment on a 3-day trip without any problems. Andy Fraser 1mg Thianil + 2-3 mg medetomidine + 20 mg azaperone is enough for every tsessebe in the bushveld. Most of them stand for a considerable amount of time. If you need to recumbency to load them, then 50-100 mg ketamine will do the job.
