Ketamine & other tranquilizers

Question
I'm writing a mystery and need some information about large animal tranquilizers.  I apologize for asking a non-dog or cat question.  I thought perhaps that similar drugs are used with smaller animals.

Ketamine - what would happen if a mouse ingested some of the drug?  I know that ketamine is sometimes used by people as an illegal drug - can you point me to any information about this?

What other tranquilizers are used when anesthesizing large animals?

Thank you for your help,

Laura

Answer
Ketamine is a controlled substance, which means you must have a license from the DEA to purchase it and use it.  It is a dissociative anesthetic which is used in small animals as well as people.  When we use ketamine for a sedative we usually combine it with valium to help relax the muscles because ketamine tends to make the animal very stiff...it immobilizes them...and I am sure it would also immobilize and sedate a mouse if ingested.  I do not know if it is used in large animals.  I do know they use Xylazine quite a bit in large animals for a sedative, but other than that I can not be of much help since I am a small animal exclusive vet.


To find out more info about Ketamine in people and sedatives used in large animals go to www.google.com and do a search...you will find a lot of sites.