If you would like assistance in setting up your own anesthetic system ACU will provide assistance. The table provides the number of milliliters of liquid anesthetic needed to produce various anesthetic concentrations. This technique would be only be appropriate for procedures that only require short term anesthesia since the animal will begin to recover once it is removed from the anesthetic chamber. Academic Press p32. To overcome the high concentration that occurs when halothane is utilized in a drop jar or in a nose cone dilute the halothane in light paraffin oil or USP grade mineral oil .
Diluted halothane is unstable and needs to be made fresh for each use.
If you add additional mixture to the original pledget, residual oil in the pledget can further dilute the mixture to a point where it has no efficacy. Isoflurane can not be utilized in this manner. We do not recommend the use of ether. It is not allowed in Animal Care Unit facilities and is an explosion hazard. Ether cannot be used as an anesthetic in VA approved protocols.