Caesarian Section and Neonatal Care in the Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)

Abstract

A 5-yr-old aardvark (Orycteropus afer) was presented with dystocia as a result of fetal oversize. A caesarian section was performed using the technique used in domestic dogs. Anesthesia was induced with medetomidine and ketamine and maintained with isoflurane. The neonate was initially unable to suckle because of swelling and paralysis of the face and tongue following the prolonged pressure of the dystocia. A Haberman feeder was used successfully from 5 days of age, and the calf suckled unassisted after 9 days, from which point it was parent-reared. Most captive aardvark calves have been hand-reared. Although all four of this female's calves have required some initial medical assistance, only the first was hand-reared. A management strategy of overnight separation of the calves and dam has allowed the neonates sufficient rest and reduced injury and has reduced the need for hand-rearing.

CASE REPORT: Unilateral eyelid lesion and ophthalmologic findings in an aardvark (Orycteropus afer): case report and literature review

“…Although they can be conditioned to allow physical examination and minor procedures, aardvarks are incredibly strong animals and physical restraint is not encouraged. The few published reports on chemical immobilization and/or anesthesia of aardvarks describe the protocol of an alpha‐2 agonist combined with a dissociative agent as providing good smooth sedation and muscle relaxation 8–10 . IM administration using propelled darts is advised due to the aardvark’s markedly thick, tough skin, and the animal’s reportedly explosive reaction to IM injection 8 .…”

“…IM administration using propelled darts is advised due to the aardvark’s markedly thick, tough skin, and the animal’s reportedly explosive reaction to IM injection 8 . Supplementation with a gaseous anesthetic agent for invasive or painful procedures has also been described, using either halothane or isoflurane 8,10,11 …”

Macronutrient composition of longitudinal milk samples from captive aardvarks (Orycteropus afer)

“…The high protein content of aardvark milk, in conjunction with its high mineral content, especially for Ca and P, implies a fast growth rate for the calf. Winsol was born at 1.45 kg, which is considered a healthy birth weight for aardvarks (Mutlow & Mutlow, ) and reached a weight of 19.45 kg by the end of lactation (Figure ). These nocturnal burrowers reach an adult weight of 50–80 kg (Kingdon, ; Skinner & Chimimba, ) and so assuming Winsol will weigh approximately 65 kg at maturity, the calf reached 9.7%, 17.92%, and 25.54% of his adult body weight at 1, 2, and 3 months of age, respectively, and nearly 30% of adult weight by the end of lactation.…”

“…Though aardvarks have been featured in zoos since 1869 (Boulenger, Flower, Low, Mitchell, & Smith, ), successful breeding of the species in captivity did not begin until 1962, initially with very limited success (Parys, Lehmann, Shoo, & Wilms, ; Pohlová et al, ). A common challenge of captive breeding for this species is infant injury and/or mortality due to maternal neglect, aggression, or the infant's inability to thrive (Mutlow & Mutlow, ; Stetter, ). Recent breeding success comes from the development of new husbandry techniques involving hand‐rearing and assisted‐rearing of calves to combat such problems.…”

Management of Dental Disease in Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) and Potential Use of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

“…While uncommon, small numbers of aardvarks are maintained in zoological facilities, with only 33 individuals housed at American Zoological Association (AZA) accredited institutions across 20 institutions in the United States [ 4 ]. Literature regarding veterinary care of aardvarks is scarce [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], and thus management of the aardvark patient can be challenging for zoo practitioners.…”