Abstract
Authors assessed the influence of age and health status on packed cell volume (PCV), plasma total protein (TPP), and glucose concentrations of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta, brought into a Mediterranean sea turtle rescue center in Sicily. These blood parameters should be considered as the minimum database to check the health status of sea turtles. PCV and TPP are together valuable indicators of blood loss, dehydration, or dilution from lymph or extravascular fluid during blood collection. Glucose levels are important to evaluate the blood energy balance. After clinical evaluation, 38 turtles were classified as clinically healthy and 27 as unhealthy. Depending on the size of the turtle, subjects were divided in three groups: juveniles, subadults, and adults. Analysis of variance in healthy subjects showed a significant effect of age for TPP and glucose levels. Values obtained for each age group of healthy sea turtles were compared with those from unhealthy subjects by Mann-Whitney U test. Differences in PCV and TPP but not in glucose concentrations were found between unhealthy and healthy subjects. Our results suggest that these blood parameters are useful to obtain preliminary information about the condition of C. caretta. TPP, in particular, can be used to assess health status of sea turtles while taking age differences into consideration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Campbell TW (1996) Sea turtle rehabilitation. In: Mader DR (ed) Reptile medicine and surgery. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 427–436
Casal AB, Camacho M, López-Jurado LF, Juste C, Orós J (2009) Comparative study of hematologic and plasma biochemical variables in Eastern Atlantic juvenile and adult nesting loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Vet Clin Pathol 38:213–218
Flint M, Morton JM, Limpus CJ, Patterson-Kane JC, Mills PC (2010) Reference intervals for plasma biochemical and hematologic measures in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Moreton Bay. Aust J Wild Dis 46:731–741
Gelli D, Ferrari V, Zanella A et al (2009) Establishing physiological blood parameters in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). Eur J Wild Res 55:59–63
Gicking J, Foley AM, Har KE, Raskin RE, Jacobson E (2004) Plasma protein electrophoresis of the Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle. J Herpetol Med Surg 14:14–18
Kaneko JJ (1997) Serum proteins and the dysproteinemias. In: Kaneko JJ, Harvey JW, Bruss ML (eds) Clinical biochemistry of domestic animals, 5th edn. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 117–138
Muller K, Brunnberg L (2010) Determination of plasma albumin concentration in healthy and diseased turtles: a comparison of protein electrophoresis and the bromocresol green dye-binding method. Vet Clin Pathol 39:79–82
Osborne AG, Jacobson ER, Bresette MJ, Singewald DA, Scarpino RA, Bolten AB (2010) Reference intervals and relationships between health status, carapace length, body mass, and water temperature and concentrations of plasma total protein and protein electrophoretogram fractions in Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles and green turtles. J Am Vet Med Assoc 237:561–567
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alberghina, D., Panzera, M., Maccarrone, V. et al. Study of some blood parameters in Caretta Caretta during a recovery period. Comp Clin Pathol 24, 193–195 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-014-1923-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-014-1923-9