Pet care: A huge patient with a huge problem: insomnia

First in a series.

A big, older girl with a gentle soul was having a hard time sleeping. She lay down during the night but popped back up after a few minutes. She was also getting easily startled. There had been a lot of birthdays along with a thick medical record. Everybody was worried. Her doctor contacted me for behavioral advice. (Not for herself — for her patient!)

Sleep happens in the brain, but problems elsewhere in the body can have an impact. Veterinary behavior medicine includes all of it. So I offered to take a look. I’ve consulted for the ABQ BioPark on a jaguar, a capybara and a spider monkey. This time it was Irene who needed help.

The matriarch of the Asian elephant herd is 58 years old and generally doing well for her age. She arrived in Albuquerque for a new life in 1997, following her stint performing in a traveling circus. It was a good move for Irene. Minus the leg chains, she has grown to really like people. She happily approached me to say hello when I sauntered up to her habitat. When Callie, her trainer, asked her for a variety of skills, Irene clearly enjoyed earning carrots for her work. She has a great life, but she would feel a lot better if she could just lie down for a while and get a decent night’s rest.

We don’t have sleep studies on wild animals because, well, they’re wild animals. Luckily for elephants, we do have research on horses, a species with strikingly similar anatomy and brain function. Both often sleep while standing, but they can only reach the deeper, physiologically essential REM (rapid eye movement) sleep while recumbent for at least a few hours.

Guided by surveillance videos, the animal care staff noticed in mid-January that Irene’s downtime had dropped from 3 to 4 hours at a stretch to just several minutes. What happened? Take the quiz.

a) Disturbed by outdoor noises?

b) Uncomfortable bedding?

c) Pain?

d) Brain tumor?

e) Cranky?

Next week: Answers and more questions.

For help with behavior problems, you can sign up for a Zoom group conference at drjeffnichol.com

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