Margarita Woc-Colburn

Nashville Zoo at Grassmere · Veterinary Services

As wild cheetah populations continue to decline, captive populations in zoological institutions, breeding and conservation centers grow in importance. Though similar in many aspects to other species in the felid family, cheetahs exhibit unique adaptations that can make their captive care more challenging. They are more susceptible to stress induced...

From 2013 to 2015, 16 pregnancies were monitored by ultrasonography in nine tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) housed in three zoological facilities. Sonographic measurements were recorded to establish fetal growth curves using thoracic and skull landmarks described for giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). All pregnancies resulted in the uncomp...

Multiple anesthesia protocols have been used in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Twenty healthy, captive cheetahs were immobilized with dexmedetomidine (15.8 6 1.9 lg/kg), butorphanol (0.22 6 0.03 mg/kg), and midazolam (0.18 6 0.03 mg/kg) by intramuscular injection. Induction, recumbency, and recovery times were recorded, and physiologic parameters...

Multiple anesthesia protocols have been used in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Twenty healthy, captive cheetahs were immobilized with dexmedetomidine (15.8 ± 1.9 μg/kg), butorphanol (0.22 ± 0.03 mg/kg), and midazolam (0.18 ± 0.03 mg/kg) by intramuscular injection. Induction, recumbency, and recovery times were recorded, and physiologic parameters...

Alpha2-adrenergic agonists are used to immobilize many veterinary species, but use has been infrequently linked to urine contamination of semen collected via electroejaculation. The objective of the study was to compare the α2-agonists medetomidine and dexmedetomidine on urine contamination of semen in anesthetized cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ) dur...

Thompson R, Wolf T, Robertson H, Revens L, Woc-Colburn M, Moreno A, Napier AE and Nofs SA (2013). Establishing Metrics for Fetal Development in Tamandua tetradactyla using Serial Ultrasound. Proc of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah: 99.

Prehensile-tailed porcupines (Coendou prehensilis), like other rodents, lack external sexual traits, making it difficult to non-invasively determine their gender. By exploiting genetic differences between the X and the Y chromosome, we developed a simple genetic test to determine the gender of Coendous from shed quills. We Sanger sequenced a short...

Investigations into the cause of mortality and other important findings at necropsy were made into two families of small mammals at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (SNZP; USA). Necropsy reports from 1976 through 2008 were reviewed for all elephant shrews in family Macroscelididae (n = 118) and all tree shrews in family Tupaiidae (n = 90) t...

Abstract: A 3-yr-old male Rothschild's giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) presented for acute swelling caudomedial to the left parietal horn. Following initial diagnostics and supportive treatment, the mass was surgically resected and intralesional chemotherapy was administered. Despite treatment, the giraffe's condition worsened and euth...

Three Swainson's Blue Mountain Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus), ranging from 6 to 8 months of age, presented with lethargy, emaciation, and progressive neurologic signs. The first one died 24 hours after the onset of clinical signs, and the other two were euthanized 10 to 14 days after the onset of progressive neurologic dis...