KRUUSE I Infusion Ones the patient is stabilised, or if the patient is healthy and undergoing elective surgery, it is time to change the approach to maintenance fluids. Maintaining rabbits on fluids for more than a few hours is seldom necessary and can be stressful. However, in some cases with patients recovering from critical status, a period of 2-24-hours is a fair timeframe for maintenance if the animal is not drinking on its own. Daily maintenance requirement will have to be replaced to prevent dehydration. Rat: 100 ml/kg/day Mouse: 150 ml/kg/day Rabbit: 3-4 ml/kg/hour, which can be approximated up to 100 ml/kg/day Example: A 300 g rat would require 100 ml x 0.3 kg = 30 ml per 24 hours Infusion rate? 24-hour fluid volume replacements can ideally be divided into 2 or 3 treatments over the 24-hour period Examples: The 300 g rat is administered 10 ml three times or 15 ml twice over a 24-hour period. Or A 2,5 kg rabbit to be given IV maintenance fluids during surgery, with an infusion rate of approximately 10 ml/kg/hour: 1 drop every 2-3 seconds for an ‘average’ pet rabbit using a giving set that delivers 60 drops/ml. See our Infusion Catalog: bit.ly/3grlhjN References Anaesthesia of exotic pets ISBN 978-0-7020-2888-5 Paul-Murphy J. Critical care of the rabbit. Vet Clin North Am: Exot Anim Pract 10(2):437-461, 2007. Echols MS, Lichtenberger M, Pollock C. Intravenous catheter placement in small mammals. LafeberVet website. May 7, 2013. Available at https://lafeber.com/vet/intravenous-catheter-placement-in-small-mammals/ www.kruuse.com
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