Association of midazolam with ketamine in giant Amazon river turtles Podocnemis expansa breed in captivity

purpose: evaluate the effects of two anesthetic associations in giant amazon river turtles (p. expansa). methods: twenty p. expansa, healthy, of both sexes, with weights between 1.0 and 1.5 kg of a commercial breeding facility located in the valley of the araguaia river, goiás, brazil, were divided into two groups ( g1 n = 10 and g2 n = 10). each group received a protocol being: p1 = midazolam (2 mg/kg im) and ketamine (20 mg/kg im) and p2 = midazolam (2 mg/kg im) and ketamine (60 mg/kg im), applied on g1 and g2, respectively. the drugs were applied in the left forelimb. the clinical parameters evaluated were: locomotion, muscle relaxation, response to pain stimuli in the right thoracic and pelvic members and heart rate. these assessments were made at time 0 (immediately after injection) and times of 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes after the injections. results: group 2 showed a higher heart rate than g1 and more rapid and prolonged immobilization. conclusion: the sedation scores obtained by these protocols (p1 and p2) were satisfactory, with possible pharmacological contention for collecting biological samples and physical examination in p. expansa.