Veterinary Guidance

Obtaining Schedule VI drugs for Animal Research at MGH

Schedule VI drugs consist of all prescription drugs, which are not included in Schedules II-V. This is a special Massachusetts schedule.

Examples of Schedule VI drugs include:

• anesthetics, e.g. isoflurane
• sedatives, e.g. xylazine
• antibiotics, e.g. enrofloxacin
• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, e.g. meloxicam

You do not need a federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license to procure these drugs. However, you must register for a Massachusetts researcher drug license through the Department of Public Health.

Once you obtain a Massachusetts researcher drug license you can then set up an account with any of our vendors listed below and order Schedule VI drugs.

McKesson
Please see the Non Human Research Controlled Substance policy for details on how to set up an account with McKesson
Website: https://mms.mckesson.com/
Telephone: 866-625-2679

Patterson Veterinary Supply Company
Website: https://www.pattersonvet.com/
Telephone: 800-225-7911
Fax: 978-353-6022

Covetrus
Website: https://northamerica.covetrus.com
Telephone: (855)-724-3461
Fax: 614-553-6856

Schedule VI drugs should be kept in a locked, limited access area however, not in the same safe as Schedule I-V drugs.

Please be aware that neither the Center for Comparative Medicine nor the MGH Pharmacy will provide controlled substances for non-human research.

For more information:

The Non Human Research Controlled Substance policy (specific to DEA schedule II-V) can be found on Ellucid.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the staff listed below:

1. Kele Piper, Director of Research Compliance, kkpiper@mgh.harvard.edu (617-726-2111)
2. CCM Veterinary Services: Lori Palley at lpalley@mgh.harvard.edu(617-643-2735)

Pain Management Regimens for Mice and Rats

Anesthesia and Pain Management Regimens for Small Ruminants

Anesthesia and Pain Management Regimens for Swine

Anesthesia and Pain Management Regimens for Rabbits

Summary Slide from ARC Discussion on Genotyping (February 25, 2021)

Preferred methods	Pain and Distress Category	Identification Method	Age	Comments
Ear Notching	C	Yes	Once 2mm or more of ear is present (usually 14 days of age, may be as early as 8 days)	Can be performed early, results in minimal pain & minimal blood loss. DNA sample collected and identification method combined.
Ear Slicing	C	Yes	Once 2mm or more of ear is present (usually 14 days of age, may be as early as 8 days)	Can be performed early, results in minimal pain & minimal blood loss. DNA sample collected and identification method combined.
Tail Snip <21 days of age	C	No	Once more than 2mm of tail is present (usually 14 days of age, may be as early as 8 days)	Yes, minimal pain, if performed before 21 days. Does not ID animals.

Less Preferred Methods	Pain and Distress Category	Identification Method	Age	Comments
Tail Snip ≥21 days of age	D	No	21 days of age or greater	Requires analgesia, -/+ anesthesia (please discuss with your facility vet). Often leads to pain and possible blood loss. Does not ID animals
Buccal Swabbing	C	No	Any age	Pain free but does not ID animals
Hair Plucks	C	No	As soon as hair is present	Momentary pain but does not ID animals
Blood test	C	No	Depends on bleeding method	More labor intensive, minimal pain but it does not ID animals.

Tidal volume is the amount of air that passes into or out of the lungs during a normal breath

Species	Tidal Volume (mL/kg)
Rabbit1	4-6
Dog2	10-15
Sheep3	10-12
Swine4	5-10
NHP5	7-10
These ranges are guidelines Example A: 40 kg swine; tidal volume = 200-400 mLIf calculating reservoir bag size, the bag should be approximately 6x the tidal volume. In this case, 1200-2400 mL (ie. 1.2-2.4 L bag range, use a 2 L bag). Example B: 20 kg dog; tidal volume = 200-300 mLIf reservoir bag range is narrow and ideal size is not available, round up. In this case, 1200-1800 mL (ie. 1.2-1.8 L bag range, use a 2 L bag because there is no 1.5 L bag option).

1Anderson, Lynn, et al., editors. Laboratory Animal Medicine. 3rd ed., Elsevier, 2015.
2McKelvey, Diane. Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. 3rd ed., Mosby, 2003.
3DiVincenti Jr, Louis, et al. “Sheep (Ovis Aries) as a Model for Cardiovascular Surgery and Management before, during, and after Cardiopulmonary Bypass.” Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, vol. 53, no. 5, Sept. 2014, pp. 439–448., www.ingentaconnect.com/content/aalas/jaalas/2014/00000053/00000005/art00002?crawler=true.
4Swindle, M Michael. Swine in the Laboratory: Surgery, Anesthesia, Imaging, and Experimental Techniques. 2nd ed., CRC Press, 2007.
5Abee, Christian R, et al., editors. Nonhuman Primates in Biomedical Research: Biology. 2nd ed., vol. 1, Elsevier, 2012.

Click here for the IACUC Policy on Euthanasia 

Please contact your facility veterinarian here. 

This table shows common routes of substance administration, maximum volumes per site and appropriate needle sizes for each laboratory animal species.

	IV	IP	IM	SQ	Oral
Mouse	0.2 mL	2 – 3 mL	N/A	2 -3 mL	5-10 mL/kg
	≤ 25 ga	≤ 21 ga	N/A	≤ 20 ga	22 – 24 ga
Rat	0.5 mL	5 – 10 mL	0.1 mL	5 – 10 mL	5 – 10 mL / kg
	≤ 23 ga	≤ 21 ga	≤ 21 ga	≤ 20 ga	18 – 20 ga
Hamster	0.3 mL	3 – 4 mL	0.1 mL	3 – 4 mL	5 – 10 mL/kg
	≤ 25 ga	≤ 23 ga	≤ 23 ga	≤ 23 ga	18 – 22 ga
Guinea Pig	0.5 mL	10 – 15 mL	0.3 mL	5 – 10 mL	5 – 10 mL / kg
	≤ 23 ga	≤ 21 ga	≤ 21 ga	≤ 20 ga	18 – 20 ga
Rabbit	1 – 5 mL	50 – 100 mL	0.5 – 1 mL	50 – 100 mL	5 – 10 mL / kg
	≤ 21 ga	≤ 20 ga	≤ 23 ga	≤ 20 ga	N/A
Dog	10 – 15 mL	200 – 500 mL	2 – 5 mL	100 – 200 mL	5 -10 mL / kg
	≤ 20 ga	≤ 20 ga	≤ 20 ga	≤ 20 ga	N/A
Sheep	10 mL / kg	N/A	2 – 5 mL	100 – 400 mL	5 – 10 mL / kg
	≤ 20 ga	N/A	≤ 20 ga	≤ 16 ga	N/A
Swine	10 mL / kg	N/A	2 – 5 mL	N/A	5 – 10mL / kg
	≤ 20 ga	N/A	≤ 18 ga	N/A	N/A
NHP	10 mL / kg	50 – 100 mL	1 – 3 mL	10-30 mL	5 – 10 mL / kg
	≤ 20 ga	≤ 20 ga	≤ 20 ga	≤ 20 ga	N/A

• If a range is provided, the lower end of the range is recommended. If a single value is listed, it is the maximum allowable dose. 
• Investigators wishing to dose greater volumes than specified must consult the veterinary staff and provide justification in their IACUC protocol.

• If the route or species you are considering is NOT on this list or if you have questions about your dosing material, please consult with CCM veterinary staff.
• When administering substances to laboratory animals, take care to select an appropriate route of administration, method of restraint, dosing interval, and dose volume.
• Administering any substance (therapeutic or experimental) to an animal subject, one must consider the pH, sterility, and chemical nature (odor, taste, mucosal irritability, osmolarity, solubility, light sensitivity, and hazard status) of the compound and make appropriate decisions on the dose to be administered, frequency of administration, volume to be administered, the solvent (if necessary), and route of administration. 

Consultation in the development of new and execution of existing research projects is available. Please find your facility veterinarian’s contact information here.