Physical and Chemical Restraint of Pet Pigs
Physical Restraint[1]
Physical restraint methods include, but are not limited to the snares, hog panels, physically holding, forking, and slings. With the exception of forking, proper ear protection should be worn when Restraining pigs.
Chemical Restraint
*Disclaimer: While pet pigs are often considered family members, much like cats and dogs, in the eyes of AMDUCA, they are still considered a meat producing animal. For this reason proper withdrawal times must be adhered to based on label directions, FARAD advice, or clinical experience.*
Pigs have a simple 1 chambered stomach similar to our other small animal species, for this reason, fasting for 6-12 hours prior to an anesthetic even is warranted to help reduce the risk of regurgitation and aspiration. Water should also be withheld for at least 2 hours prior. Exceptions to these guidelines are for pigs younger than 8 weeks, as they only need to fast for 4 hours with water withheld for 1 hour. Suckling piglets do not need any withholding.[1]
Chemical restraint commonly used in pet pigs typically consist of various combinations of opioids, benzodiazepines, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, dissociatives, and inhalants.
IM and SQ injections are most commonly administered in the neck, just behind the ear. There is typically the least amount of fat covering here, and pigs tend to tolerate this location the best. An 18-gauge, 1.5” needle typically works well unless the pig is quite small or thin, in which case a shorter needle can be used. The addition of an extension line can help facilitate the injection process, as it allows the pig freedom to move and relax after the needle is inserted.
Endotracheal intubation after induction is important for maintaining ventilation during anesthesia. As outlined in the Anatomy chapter of this guide, pigs present several challenges for intubation. ET tube sizes typically range from 6.5-14mm for pet pigs. The following table outlining ET tube sizes was copied from The Veterinary Clinics of North America Exotic Animal Practice.
Various positions for endotracheal intubation of been described, the 2 most common positions are sternal and dorsal recumbency. There are pros and cons to both methods, so this ends up being at the discretion of the person intubating. In either scenario it is important to not force the ET tube, if it is not going smoothly, it should be repositioned/rotated 90 degrees, or a smaller tube should be tried. A rather long laryngoscope is often needed to attain adequate visualization. Similar to feline intubation, the glottis should be sprayed with approximately 1ml of 2% lidocaine prior to attempting intubation. A stylet or introducer can be passed through the glottis and used as a guide for the ET tube to slide over. If too much pressure is applied it can lead to laryngeal trauma and subsequent edema, aspiration, and/or perforation of the larynx.
In addition to the many protocols listed in the following sections, this link Anesthetics_and_Analgesics_Swine.pdf (ttu.edu) also provides a nice chart of various anesthetic combinations. It should be noted that this chart is somewhat out of date, and a few of the drugs listed are not readily available.
