Table 4.
Plasma biochemical results for adult Mojave desert tortoises (G. agassizii) that were assessed as captive clinically abnormal (5 F:6 M) and wild clinically normal (5 F:5 M) in July at Clark County, NV, USA
| Biochemical parameters | Abbreviations | PS | Abnormal range | Normal range | Reference range | Abnormal geometric mean | Normal geometric mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enzymes | |||||||
| Alkaline phosphatase (U/l) | ALK* | All | 19–116 | 26–134 | 25–114 | 32.86 | 65.34 |
| Aspartate Animotransferase (U/l) | AST* | All | 25–369 | 19–46 | NA | 58.46 | 29.97 |
| AST | M | – | – | 24–123 | – | – | |
| AST | F | – | – | 15–78 | – | – | |
| Creatine kinase (U/l) | CK | All | 604–108 520 | 955–2774 | NA | 2081.74 | 1343.67 |
| Glutamate dehydrogenase (U/L) | GLDH | All | NM | 0–4 | NA | NM | 0.80 |
| Lactic dehydrogenase (U/l) | LDH | All | 159–4270 | NM | 25–250 | 315.89 | NM |
| Organics | |||||||
| Albumin (g/dl) | Alb* | All | 1.2–2.0 | 0.4–1.6 | 0.08–1.9 | 1.61 | 1.01 |
| PreAlbumin | PreAlb | All | 0.54–1.16 | NM | 0.01–0.19 | 0.79 | NM |
| Albumin:Globulins | Alb:Glob | All | 0.27–0.56 | 0.31–0.64 | 0.41–0.97 | 0.38 | 0.49 |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dl) | BUN* | All | 3–45.0 | 0.9–6.0 | 1–37 | 8.32 | 2.42 |
| Cholesterol (mg/dl) | Chol* | All | 79–361 | 23–164 | NA | 162.67 | 76.70 |
| Chol* | M | 23–56 | – | 60–381 | – | – | |
| Chol* | F | 94–164 | – | 33–217 | – | – | |
| Globulins (g/dl) | Glob* | All | 1.91–4.46 | 0.9–3.0 | 1.33–3.9 | 3.20 | 2.06 |
| α1 Globulins | α1 Glob | All | 0.1–0.26 | NM | 0.03–1.22 | 0.18 | NM |
| α2 Globulins | α2 Glob | All | 0.38–0.89 | NM | 0.03–1.15 | 0.62 | NM |
| β Globulins | β Glob | All | 0.92–2.76 | NM | 0.05–2.82 | 1.79 | NM |
| ϒ Globulins | ϒ Glob | All | 0.34–0.73 | NM | 0.02–0.50 | 0.57 | NM |
| Glucose (mg/dl) | Gluc | All | 67–182 | 27–85 | 65–186 | 90.08 | 63.26 |
| Plasma fibrinogen (mg/dl) | Fib | All | 3.5–6.0 | 2.6–5.4 | NA | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| Plasma protein (mg/dl) | Pro | All | NM | 100–300 | NA | NM | 120 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dl) | Trig | All | 5.0–546 | NM | NA | 52.16 | NM |
| Trig | M | – | – | 7–32 | – | – | |
| Trig | F | – | – | 14–603 | – | – | |
| Total Protein (g/dl) | TP* | All | 3–6.0 | 1.4–4.6 | 2.3–5.3 | 4.45 | 3.09 |
| Uric acid (mg/dl) | UA* | All | 1.9–12.5 | 0.9–5.4 | 1.7–9.2 | 4.90 | 2.41 |
| Minerals | |||||||
| Calcium (mg/dl) | Ca | All | 9.2–20.4 | 0–20.6 | NA | 12.48 | 9.30 |
| Ca* | M | 8.1–11.0 | 8.6–12.5 | 10.24 | 9.18 | ||
| Ca* | F | 0.0–20.6 | 11.3–23.9 | 14.66 | 9.38 | ||
| Phosphorus (mg/dl) | P | All | 12–70 | 14–52 | NA | 29.71 | 26.85 |
| P | M | – | – | 1.1–3.3 | – | – | |
| P | F | – | – | 2.0–6.5 | – | – | |
| Electrolytes | |||||||
| Anion gap (mmol/l) | AnionG | All | NA | 5–18 | 2–29 | NM | 9.22 |
| Chloride (mmol/l) | Cl | All | 107–161 | 103–145 | 101–138 | 124.44 | 118.78 |
| Sodium (mmol/l) | Na | All | 139–190 | 136–172 | 127–176 | 153.50 | 146.33 |
| Potassium (mmol/l) | K | All | 3–5.5 | 3–6.9 | 3.7–7.5 | 4.21 | 4.64 |
| Total CO2 (mmol/l) | CO2 | All | 15–27 | 17–26 | 14–32 | 21.22 | 22.24 |
| Other | |||||||
| Vitamin A (ppm) | Vit A | All | 0–0.23 | 0.06–0.28 | NA | 0.10 | 0.16 |
| Trace Elements | |||||||
| Calcium (ppm) | Ca | All | 52–230 | 66–170 | NA | 106.56 | 116.15 |
| Ca | M | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Ca | F | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Copper (ppm) | Cu* | All | 0.4–0.8 | 0.0–0.3 | – | 0.58 | 0.16 |
| Cu | M | – | – | 0.5–0.7 | – | – | |
| Cu | F | – | – | 0.3–0.7 | – | – | |
| Iron (ppm) | Fe | All | NA | 0.2–2.5 | NA | NM | 0.69 |
| Fe | M | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Fe | F | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Magnesium (ppm) | Mg | All | 19–51 | 29–62 | NA | 32.38 | 37.56 |
| Mg | M | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Mg | F | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Phosphorus (ppm) | P | All | 12–70 | 14–52 | NA | 29.71 | 26.85 |
| P | M | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| P | F | – | – | NA | – | – | |
| Potassium (mEq/l) | K | All | 2.1–5.0 | NM | NA | 3.5 | NV |
| K | M | – | – | 3.5–4.7 | – | – | |
| K | F | – | – | 3.7–4.7 | – | – | |
| Sodium (mEq/l) | Na | All | 77–160 | 110–130 | NA | 124.13 | 113.82 |
| Na | M | – | – | 122.4–136 | – | – | |
| Na | F | – | – | 122.3–138.5 | – | – | |
| Zinc (ppm) | Zn | All | 1.0–3.5 | 0.6–2.4 | NA | 1.68 | 1.70 |
| Zn | M | – | – | 0.4–3.4 | – | – | |
| Zn | F | – | – | 0.7–3.7 | – | – | |
Reference values were taken from published research wild adult Mojave desert tortoises (Christopher et al.,1994; Christopher et al.,1999; Christopher et al., 2003). NM = not measured, NA = information not available, and ‘–’ = information not calculated. ‘*’ indicates significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) between clinical abnormal and normal tortoises (All) or animal sex (M, F). Population specifications (PSs): All, all tortoises, M, male, F, female.