All spinal needles have a stylet. Look at the tip of the needle. The bevel of the needle is shorter than the bevel of a hypodermic needle.
Spinal fluid is obtained from the subarachnoid space which is a shallow space.
If you use a needle with a long bevel, part of the opening into the lumen of the needle may be outside the subarchnoid space. Although some textbooks recommend insertion of the needle at the halfway point between these two landmarks, I find one tends to be just anterior to the cisterna at the halfway point. Palpate the occipital crest to define the midline. The cisterna is located on the midline, at the level of the anterior aspect of the wings of the atlas. The animal should be placed in lateral recumbency with the nose flexed and ears pulled ventrally.