TABLE 14-2.

Induction and General Anesthetics for Rabbits

Agent	Dose (mg/kg)	Route	Sedation	Analgesia
Acepromazine	1 mg/kg	IM	++	*
Diazepam/midazolam	0.5-2 mg/kg	IV, IM	+ to ++	*
Fentanyl (can cause respiratory depression; can be partially reversed with buprenorphine)	0.2-0.5 mg/kg	IM	+ to +++	+ to +++
Glycopyrrolate	0.01 mg/kg	IV
	0.1 mg/kg	SC, IM
Ketamine	10-50 mg/kg	IM	++ to +++	+
Medetomidine (reversible with atipamizole)	0.1-0.5 mg/kg	IM	+ to +++	+
Xylazine (reversible with atipamizole 1 mg/kg or yohimbine 0.2 mg/kg IV)	2-5 mg/kg	IM	+ to ++	+
Propofol (light anesthesia; can cause apnea, use with caution in un-intubated patients)	3-6 mg/kg	IV

IM, intramuscular; IV, intravenous; SC, subcutaneous.

^*, none; +, minimal; ++, moderate; +++, heavy.

From Harcourt-Brown F: Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, London, 2002, Elsevier; Flecknell P: Laboratory Animal Anaesthesia, ed 2, San Diego, 1996, Academic Press.