Newton Sparks, [26 Apr 2024 at 09:35:01]: Good morning all. I have a client where we have sterilized some female lions. There are some more to be sterilized. They are very overweight and the procedure is becoming more and more difficult as we are getting to the big aunties. They need to loose weight before sterilisation. They are separated from the males but aggression when on heat is a problem. What would be my options to control the aggression? I don't think the 9.4 mg Deslorelin is available in SA. What is your experience with Vetscripts implants? (Not sure if it is still available). What will the effect be on weight gain using Deslorelin? Other options?? Rob Jackson, [26 Apr 2024 at 10:28:14]: Hi Newton, I used 2x 4.7 implants on about 15 lionesses in 3 groups, no pregnancies for at least 30 months. I guess that they would get fat more easily as we have suppressed an energy using system Erik Verrynne, [26 Apr 2024 at 10:43:27]: Hi Newton. I use Deslorelin. It works well, but they do get fat. Not as fat though as the one I sterilized, although admittedly my sample size may not be representative. Dave Midgeley, [26 Apr 2024 at 11:23:00]: Newton - good morning. What about "Improvac"? Registered for pigs in SA, but also for equines elsewhere in the world. It has been used in horses in SA (Dr Esther Botha did her Phd thesis on this on mares). Used to Rx various "behavioural problems" in equines. Prof Henk Bertschinger used it in elephants. I worked on the product in my "Pfizer days" (now a few moons ago!). Newton Sparks, [28 Apr 2024 at 12:32:55]: Thanks Rob, Erik and Dave. I wasn't aware that you get 2 x4.7 deslorelin in one packet. Makes it more cost effective now😁. Dave, it sounds as if the Improvac also works well. Just a bit sceptic about darting the animals repeatedly. Or they start jumping into the trees when they see the vet's vehicle - like this female. Rob Jackson, [29 Apr 2024 at 10:13:37]: Yup - they dont like the Improvac Improvac has to be repeated much more often than Deslorelin - every 5 to 6 months after the first 2 injections which are 5 to 7 weeks apart. The effects are very different per animal (duration of action), so difficult to assess when the animals might be cycling again
