Intravenously administered ketamine HCl and diazepam for anesthesia of raptors

A combination of ketamine HCl and diazepam given intravenously was successfully utilized to induce anesthesia for various surgical procedures in 40 raptors. A dosage of 30 to 40 mg of ketamine HCl/kg of body weight and 1.0 to 1.5 mg of diazepam/kg of body weight was satisfactory for diurnal raptors. Owls were more sensitive to the anesthetic combination, necessitating greater care in anesthetizing them. Abundant body fat was found to be an important factor in calculation of the proper dose of this combination.