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USE OF BUSPIRONE AND ENRICHMENT TO MANAGE ABERRANTBEHAVIOR IN AN AMERICAN BADGER (TAXIDEA TAXUS)Author(s): Laurie J. GageD.V.M.Source: Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 36(3):520-522. 2005.Published By: American Association of Zoo VeterinariansDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1638/04-100.1URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1638/04-100.1

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Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 36(3): 520–522, 2005Copyright 2005 by American Association of Zoo Veterinarians

USE OF BUSPIRONE AND ENRICHMENT TO MANAGE ABERRANTBEHAVIOR IN AN AMERICAN BADGER (TAXIDEA TAXUS)

Laurie J. Gage, D.V.M.

Abstract: A captive adult female American badger (Taxidea taxus) suffered periodic episodes of agitation and self-mutilation over the course of its lifetime. Initially environmental enrichment curtailed the aberrant behavior; however,intensifying clinical signs periodically required the use of diazepam for amelioration of the problem. When diazepamtreatment failed to effectively manage a series of escalating behavioral problems, alternative therapy with buspirone,an azaperone anxiolytic, was initiated. The badger was treated with 10 mg buspirone p.o. b.i.d. for over 18 mo, duringwhich time no undesirable behaviors or noticeable side effects were observed.

Key words: Badger, behavior, buspirone, enrichment, self-mutilation, Taxidea taxus.

BRIEF COMMUNICATION

Behavioral problems including fears, phobias,and anxieties and their treatments have been de-scribed in domestic animals.2,4,5,8 Psychotropicdrugs have proved useful in managing some behav-ioral problems seen in companion animals, includ-ing urine marking in cats, and aggression and ste-reotypic behaviors in dogs.2,4,5,8 Stereotypical pac-ing behaviors and psychogenically induced der-matoses have been successfully treated usingpsychotropic drugs in nondomestic carnivores.1,3,7,9

Few descriptions of treatments for anxiety or pho-bias in nondomestic carnivores exist in the litera-ture.9 This report will describe attempts to managesevere behavioral and self-mutilation behaviors ina badger over its lifetime using a variety of behav-ioral-enrichment techniques coupled with the use ofanxiolytic drugs.

A captive adult female American badger (Taxi-dea taxus) had a lifelong history of episodes of ag-itation, usually accompanied by vocalizations, withoccasional self-mutilation that generally lasted forvarying amounts of time during a 1–3 day period.The badger had been orphaned and raised by a pri-vate individual, and it was already exhibiting signsof agitation and vocalizations prior to its arrival atthe Coyote Point Museum in California in 1991when it was 2 yr old. The rehabilitator interpretedthe behavior as attempts to gain attention. The re-habilitator fed the animal cookies as treats and toameliorate the episodes. The badger, at 14 kg, was3 kg greater than optimal body weight upon arrival.

Within its first year at the museum, the badgerexhibited a few episodes of agitation and vocali-

From the Coyote Point Museum, 1651 Coyote PointDrive, San Mateo, Califoria 94401, USA. Present address:1131 Second Avenue, Napa, California 94558, USA. Cor-respondence should be directed to Dr. Gage.

zation. Whenever this aberrant behavior occurred,the keepers added new piles of dirt, logs, or smalltoys to enrich the enclosure, which apparentlysolved the problem for weeks to months at a time.

On several occasions during January of the fol-lowing year, a keeper used a hose to spray waternear the badger to encourage it to shift from itsnight quarters to the outside exhibit. At the time,no signs of agitation were reported. However, sixepisodes occurred later during that spring, severalof which seemed to coincide with the animal hear-ing the sounds of the hose. The episodes were ofsufficient intensity that diazepam (Valium, RochePharmaceuticals, Nutley, New Jersey 07110, USA;0.55 mg/kg p.o. s.i.d.) was prescribed for the 1–2day duration to decrease its apparent anxiety.

Over the next 9 yr, the badger exhibited 10 sig-nificant episodes of aberrant behavior of varyingintensity and duration. Vocalizations started withlow growls that would crescendo into fits of ear-piercing screaming. The badger bit at both sides ofits body. Agitation and screaming fits appeared tobe initiated by sounds associated with water andhose usage during exhibit cleaning or by heavyrainstorms. Whenever episodes occurred or esca-lated, diazepam (0.5–0.7 mg/kg p.o. s.i.d. for 2–17days) and novel behavioral enrichment items wereused together or individually depending upon thesituation to ameliorate negative behaviors. In an ef-fort to prevent the screaming fits altogether, as soonas the keeper arrived in the morning (and while thebadger was typically still quiet), the prescribed di-azepam was administered in a small piece of meatresulting in placid behavior within 1 hr and sleepfor most of the day. New enrichment programs var-ied from time to time and included adding a largerdig box to the enclosure, replacing the substrate inthe dig box, placing logs and moss within the ex-hibit, hiding food items, and offering bones and ap-propriate rawhide toys.

521GAGE—BUSPIRONE IN A BADGER

The badger was chemically immobilized forevaluation by physical examination, completeblood count (CBC), biochemical profile annually,and radiographs semi-annually or annually. Duringthe routine physical examinations, healed scar tis-sue on the right and left lateral trunk was the onlyskin abnormality noted. During the 9-yr periodthree additional immobilizations of the badger wereprompted by the episodes. Physical abnormalitieswere limited to bilateral excoriations on the sidesof the abdomen, which always resolved once theepisodes were controlled and did not appear to beassociated with dermatologic disease. CBC andbiochemical profile were unremarkable at eachevaluation. An ovariohysterectomy was performedwhen the badger was 3.5 yr old due to concern thatthe episodes might be associated with estrus cycles.For 4 yr after the surgery, only occasional gruntsand screams were heard coming from the badgerwithin its night quarters and were usually associ-ated with washing the adjacent exhibit with waterfrom a hose. At the second evaluation following anepisode, when the badger was 7.5 yr old, spondy-losis between L4 and L5 was present. Althoughthere was concern that the spondylosis could be thesource of enough pain to cause the self-mutilation,it did not seem to curtail the badger’s activity andno medical treatment was initiated at the time. Thebadger had no serious problems thereafter for 2.5yr.

The most serious series of episodes began whenthe badger was 11 yr old. The badger inflicted thegreatest damage to date to the tissue on both sidesof its abdomen. The dig box contents were replacedwith new substrate that seemed to solve the prob-lem for 2 wk, but the episodes recurred. The animalwas medicated again with daily diazepam (0.5–0.7mg/kg p.o. s.i.d.), but on some days the drug hadto be given b.i.d. to ameliorate the problem. Thephysical examination was unremarkable except forthe scarring and excoriations evident on the skin onboth sides of the abdomen. The spondylosis had notchanged. New enrichment items were added to theexhibit, but the badger continued to exhibit extremeagitation and side-biting each time the diazepamwas discontinued. During this time, the badger rare-ly seemed at ease in spite of the diazepam treat-ment. The possibility of the badger having devel-oped a tolerance to the diazepam was considered;1 mo later, the diazepam was discontinued and anew drug therapy was initiated.

Buspirone (Buspirone Hydrochloride, Par Phar-maceutical Inc., Spring Valley, New York 10977,USA) was given at a dose of 0.68 mg/kg p.o. b.i.d.Initially the episodes continued but seemed less in-

tense. The dose was increased to 0.9 mg/kg p.o.b.i.d. after 3 days of treatment. During the first 3wk of buspirone treatment, there were three shortepisodes of side-biting, after which the animal’s be-havior remained within normal limits. The animalwas maintained at that dose for over 18 mo. Thekeepers continued to offer a wide variety of enrich-ment items, including new dig box substrate, ap-plying new scents within the exhibit, hiding treats,and offering bones and other appropriate chew toys.

The buspirone appeared to be a superior anxio-lytic to the diazepam in this case because it effec-tively stopped the animal from vocalizing and self-mutilating while appearing to have no depressanteffects. Comparatively, when the animal was treat-ed with the diazepam, it had a tendency to sleepmuch of the day, which made discontinuing the di-azepam treatment a priority for this exhibit animal.Given the sporadic nature of the onset of the epi-sodes, the response the badger had to the buspironecould have been coincidental; however, the keepersconcurred that the badger seemed to be more calmand playful than it had in the years before the treat-ment. During the entire course of treatment withthe buspirone, the animal appeared content, active,and playful.

The badger was diagnosed with lymphoma, wasweaned off the buspirone, and received chemother-apy treatments for 9 mo, at which point the neo-plasia progressed and euthanasia was elected. Threeweeks before the animal was euthanatized it hadone short episode where it was observed biting itsleft side. The necropsy revealed no evidence oflymphoma; however, there was a disseminated leio-myosarcoma throughout the abdominal cavity. Inaddition to bilateral hairless patches on the trunk,there was one raised, crusted, partially haired nod-ule on the left lateral cervical skin, defined by thepathologist as a moderate focal chronic ulcerativeand pustular dermatitis. This nodule had not beenobserved during any of the previous routine phys-ical examinations and likely was the result of therecent side-biting episode.

Anxiolytic drugs, a class of psychotropic drugs,have been used to treat fears, anxieties, and phobiasin cats and dogs, as well as to treat inappropriateelimination and urine spraying in cats.4,8 Nondo-mestic carnivores with aberrant behaviors havebeen successfully treated with psychotropic drugsor hormones. Naltrexone was used to successfullytreat an amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)and a clouded leopard (Panthera nebulosa) withpsychogenically induced dermatoses.3 Fluoxetinehas been used successfully to extinguish pacing be-havior in a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and

522 JOURNAL OF ZOO AND WILDLIFE MEDICINE

a polar bear (Ursus maritimus), and melatonin ap-peared to be useful in the treatment of separationanxiety in a captive American black bear (Ursusamericanus).1,7,9

Buspirone is an azaperone anxiolytic, a serotoninagonist, and has mixed dopamine receptor agonist/antagonist properties.6 Unlike benzodiazepines, bu-spirone has little sedative and psychomotor impair-ment activity, and it has no muscle relaxant effects,making it an attractive choice of therapy for an ex-hibit animal.6 In addition to its common use forcontrol of feline urine marking, buspirone has beenused in dogs for separation anxiety and in dogs andcats to help control mild fears and anxieties.4,8 Thisis the first report in the literature of the use of bu-spirone to manage aberrant behavior in a nondo-mestic carnivore.

Acknowledgments: I thank Jacqui Jencek, NikiiFinch, Eunice Wong, and Dana Knepper for theirassistance with this case.

LITERATURE CITED1. Baker, D. G. 2002. Combination therapy for footpad

lesions in a captive Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris).J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 33: 389–391.

2. Hart, B. L., and L. L. Cooper. 1996. Integrating useof psychotropic drugs with environmental managementand behavioral modification for treatment of problem be-havior in animals. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 209: 1549–1551.

3. Kenny, D. E. 1994. Use of naltrexone for treatmentof psychogenically induced dermatoses in five zoo ani-mals. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 205: 1023–1023.

4. Neilson, J. 2004. Thinking outside the box: felineelimination. J. Feline Med. Surg. 6: 5–11.

5. Overall, K. L. 1997. Pharmacologic treatment for be-havior problems. Vet. Clin. N. Am. Small Anim. Pract.27: 637–665.

6. Plumb, D. C. 2002. Veterinary Drug Handbook, 4thed. Iowa State Press, Ames, Iowa.

7. Poulson, E. M., V. Honeyman, P. A. Valentine, andG. C. Teskey. 1996. Use of fluoxetine for the treatment ofstereotypical pacing behavior in a captive polar bear. J.Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 209: 1470–1474.

8. Siebert, L. M. 2003. Psychoactive drugs in behav-ioral medicine. Proc. West. Vet. Conf. (CD Rom)

9. Uchida, Y., N. H. Dodman, and D. DeGhetto. 1998.Animal behavior case of the month. J. Am. Vet. Med.Assoc. 212: 354–355.

Received for publication 10 November 2004