Successful emergency treatment in Bradypus variegatus following non-hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock

ABSTRACT

Background: The brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) occurs from the Nicaragua to Brazil. In brazilian amazonian,these animals are rescued with illnesses caused by anthropic actions. Emergencial treatment of sloths is complex becauseis a lack of specie-specific information allied to a particularly physiology. They have low metabolism and physiologicalparameters during resting time is 4-7 breaths/min, 40-100 heartbeats/min and temperature between 32-35ºC. They arealso folivores, predisposing cases of dehydration and even hypovolemic shock. This study aimed to report the emergencytreatment performed on a specimen of Bradypus variegatus affected by hypovolemic shock due to dehydration.Case A male sloth weighing 2.7 kg was attended at the Veterinary Hospital-Wild Animals Sector of the Federal Universityof Pará (HVSAS-UFPA), victim of untreated hypovolemic shock due three days of forced eating with inadequate food,which resulted in dehydration, non-hemorrhagic hypovolemic shock, and severe apathy. Physiological parameters were 8breaths/min, heart rate 90/min and rectal temperature of 33°C. Treatment begun with fluid therapy taking account of 10%of body dehydration (270 mL Ringer lactate, 8 mL vitamin complex and 2 mL glucose), for respiratory decompensationnebulization was conducted with epinephrine (0.5 mL/kg), and intramuscular administration of vitamin B complex (1 mg/kg), metoclopramide (0.2 mg/kg), ranitidine (0.5 mg/kg), and dexamethasone (0.3 mg/kg) to metabolic stimulation improvement. Physiological parameters were monitored every 10 min for the first 12 h of hospitalization. The managementwere gradually established as the clinical conditions were improved, including forced feeding, daily walks, and enclosureadapted for the minimal behavioral and biological requirements. After 14 days of intensive treatment, the animal wasconsidered ready for release...