Venous blood gas in free-living eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) and effects of physiologic, demographic and environmental factors.

ABSTRACT: Sustainable wildlife populations depend on healthy individuals, and the approach to determine wellness of individuals is multifaceted. Blood gas analysis serves as a useful adjunctive diagnostic test for health assessment, but it is uncommonly applied to terrestrial reptiles. This study established reference intervals for venous blood gas panels in free-living eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina, N = 102) from Illinois and Tennessee, and modeled the effects of environmental and physiologic parameters on each blood gas analyte. Blood gas panels included pH, partial pressure of oxygen (pO₂), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO₂), total carbon dioxide (TCO₂), bicarbonate (HCO₃^-), base excess (BE) and lactate

SUBMITTER: Adamovicz L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6059089 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature