An evaluation of tribromoethanol (TBE) as an anaesthetic agent in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

Mongolian gerbils injected i.p. with a 1.25% solution of tribromoethanol (TBE) quickly lost the righting reflex and showed good surgical anaesthesia, the duration of which was positively related to the dose administered. All levels (225-450 mg/kg bodyweight) of TBE injected s.c. resulted in loss of the righting reflex, though surgical anaesthesia was not attained. Following recovery from anaesthesia induced with 2.25% TBE i.p., or high doses of 1.25% TBE i.p., visceral adhesions and deaths occurred. To avoid these TBE-induced fatalities such extreme care must be taken during the preparation, storage and administration of the agent that it is not recommended as a suitable anaesthetic for general use in the gerbil.