WOMBATS
5.1 Capture and physical restraint
Free-ranging wombats can be difficult to capture. Despite their bulk and short legs, they can run fast and when pursued will often retreat down a burrow.
Being nocturnal, most capture attempts are done at night, when chasing wombats can be hazardous. Various methods have been used for capturing free-ranging wombats (Table 9.3). Wombats in managed care are generally more docile and often can be contained in a small enclosure to facilitate capture. Wombats in natural or artificial burrows are difficult to access and restrain. They will often present their rump towards the handler, using it as a blockade or to crush hands against the roof of the burrow. The restraint of wombats can be physically demanding, as adults may weigh 20-40 kg. They are strong and very awkward to hold. They can bite and use their claws to cause serious injury. Some individuals are aggressive. Once captured, the wombat can be transferred to a large sack or crate for short-term holding and transport (being mindful of the effects of extremes in ambient temperatures) or administration of chemical restraint agents. They can be physically restrained for short procedures, IM injections or induction of gaseous anaesthesia. Most clinical procedures on adult wombats will require chemical restraint (Bryant and Reiss 2008).5.2 Chemical restraint
In adult wombats, sedation or anaesthetic induction is commonly achieved using injectable agents, administered IM by hand, following brief physical restraint, or by pole syringe. Darting is possible but rarely used. The target area of the lateral thigh is small. IM injections can be given in the lateral thigh, shoulder or lumbar area. The hard dermal plate over the rump makes it impossible to give injections in this area (Bryant and Reiss 2008; Vogelnest and Allan 2015). Juvenile wombats are easily hand injected or masked down using gaseous anaesthesia.
Pre-anaesthetic fasting requirements are provided in Table 9.1.Sedation with benzodiazepines is useful for minor procedures or transport (see Appendix 3). The use of long-acting tranquillisers in wombats is not recommended (Bryant and Reiss 2008; Holz 2014).
Anaesthesia in wombats is generally uncomplicated. A range of injectable agents have been used (see Appendix 3). Isoflurane or sevoflurane in oxygen is widely used in wombats. This may be administered via face mask for induction of PY, juveniles and smaller, tractable or sedated animals and is also commonly used for supplementation and/or maintenance after induction with an injectable agent. Intubation of wombats is difficult because of the narrow gape and dental arcades and the considerable distance from the oral opening to the larynx making visualisation of the glottis difficult. The techniques used for intubation are similar to those used for macropods (see section 3.2.3) and koalas (see section 4.2). For recovery, wombats can be placed in a sturdy crate or pet carrier or held in a hessian sack until fully recovered. Standard small animal anaesthetic monitoring equipment can be used.
6.