Haematological reference of snakes: Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus, Linnaeus, 1758) and Burmenese Python (Python bivittatus, Kuhl, 1820) in captive

Abstract

Hematology has become important for making clinical diagnoses in snakes because maintenance techniques in captivity have been improving and increasing their life expectancy. The emergence of diseases in captivity requires the creation of parameters to understand the species in their healthy state. The possible association between the onset of neoplasia, immunosuppression, and viral infection are also important factors to consider. Thus, hematology is a fundamental tool for observing the responses of animals to diseases and treatments. The present study aims to study hematology between two species of snakes and compare the profiles observed with published results. Blood samples were collected from 16 male and female snakes: seven Corallus hortulanus from the family Boidae and nine Python bivittatus from the family Pythonidae belonging to the Biological Museum of the Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil. Complete blood count results including blood smear, total erythrocyte count, leukocytes, and differential leukocyte count were evaluated. The data obtained in this study could help with the diagnosis, the treatment of snakes in captive conditions and in of nature conservation programs.

Haematology, biochemistry and morphological features of peripheral blood cells in captive Boa constrictor

“…The results of the present study, as well as those of previous studies on other reptile species ( Fonseca Sarmiento MVZ et al , 2018 ; Page-Karjian et al , 2021; Casal et al , 2009 ), indicate a similar phenomenon also in the class reptilia. Interestingly, the adult boas of the present study showed a higher lymphocyte percentage than a cohort of captive amazon tree boas previously studies ( Corallus hortulanus ) ( Quadrini et al , 2018 ). Whether this reflects real differences between closely related species remains unclear but would be suggested, because all examined animals were clinically healthy, without evidence of inflammatory processes, infectious disease or ecdysis, which rules out most of the reported causes of lymphocytosis in reptiles ( Stacy et al , 2011 ; Vickie Joseph, 2015 ).…”

“…However, the WBC numbers were similar to those shown in the few other studies on captive B. constrictor in which this ‘leukocytosis’ was speculated to be related to the stress induced by captivity ( Machado et al , 2006 ; Brenner et al , 2002 ). Interestingly, a study on wild boids ( Corallus hortulanus) indeed reported notably lower WBC counts (in the lower third of the values published so far) ( Quadrini et al , 2018 ).…”

“…Studies that provide reference values for haematological, biochemical and stress markers in boid snakes are sparse and focus mainly on wild animals and their seasonal variations ( Fonseca Sarmiento et al , 2018 ; Machado et al , 2006 ; Quadrini et al , 2018 ). The present study aimed to establish basic haematologic and biochemical parameters and to gather data on the ‘stress level’ of clinically healthy captive B. constrictor , to obtain a diagnostic tool set for the assessment of their health status.…”

Hematologic parameters of captive Bothrops atrox (Squamata: viperidae)

“…Blood cells found in reptiles include erythrocytes and nucleated thrombocytes, heterophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, and azurophils (Campbell 2014;Heatley & Russel, 2019). According to Heatley & Russel (2019), eosinophils are rare or absent in most snakes and their presence is controversial, although it has been previously described in recent work such as that of Kindlovits et al (2017) with the genus Bothrops (B. atrox and B. jararacussu) and Corallus hortulanus, and the research of Quadrini et al (2018), with Python bivittaus. Reptile erythrocytes are ellipsoid, permanently nucleated, and larger than those of birds and mammals (Campbell 2014).…”

Alternative therapy improves hematological profiles of captive snakes from northeastern Brazil

“…Herpetological medicine evaluates their general condition, diagnoses diseases, improves husbandry, and can identify and mitigate stress both in captivity and in native environments 6 . Physical examinations associated with clinical hematology are important tools to determine the health status of snakes when analyzing their response to diseases and treatments 7 .…”