Evaluation of epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)

We evaluated the analgesic efficacy of epidural morphine for relieving post operative pain in domestic ferrets by evaluating behavior and fecal cortiso l concentrations, The 12 laboratory-reared, intact, female, domestic ferret s were anesthetized then underwent ovariohysterectomy and bilateral anal sa cculectomy, Using a double-blind procedure, we provided epidural morphine ( 0.1 mg/kg) to six ferrets and epidural saline (0.1 mL/ferret) to the remain ing animals prior to surgery, Compared to the animals that received saline, the morphine-treated ferrets were more likely to have attenuated pain resp onses, and they returned more rapidly to preoperative behavior, Although fe cal cortisol concentrations during the first 24 h after surgery increased i n all animals, the increase was statistically significant only in the ferre ts that received saline epidurals, These data suggest that morphine epidura ls administered to ferrets prior to surgery may attenuate both the physiolo gic and behavioral manifestations of surgically induced pain.