Hematology and plasma biochemistry of wild-caught Indian cobra Naja naja (Linnaeus, 1758)

Siba Parida,Sushil Dutta,Arttatrana Pal

doi:10.1186/1678-9199-20-14

Siba Parida, Sushil Dutta + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1186/1678-9199-20-14

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Abstract

BackgroundHematology and plasma biochemistry parameters are useful in the assessment and management of snake physiological status. Although reference ranges are readily available for many snake species, they are lacking for most venomous ophidians. We determined hematology and plasma biochemistry reference ranges for the wild-caught Indian cobra, Naja naja.ResultsBlood samples, taken from the ventral tail vein, were assessed for erythrocyte count, total leukocyte count, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, considering the sex of snakes.Results revealed the erythrocyte numbers (male, 390000 ± 12503.33/mm3 and female, 347500 ± 7505.55/mm3), shapes and the centrally located oval nuclei. Leukocytes were round, circular or disk-shaped, and the mean size was larger in male than female snakes. The maximum number of leukocytes was found to be 11700 ± 100/mm3 in male and 12100 ± 200/mm3 in female snakes, and mean values of differential leukocyte count differed statistically between male and female snakes. The total leukocyte levels were found to be higher in female snakes, but the levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and MCV values were higher in male snakes. However, the MCH and MCHC values remained higher in female snakes throughout the study period. Mean protein and cholesterol contents differed significantly between male (45.32 ± 1.76 and 3.76 ± 0.06 mg/mL) and female (12.47 ± 0.82 and 4.72 ± 0.2 mg/mL) snakes.ConclusionsIn conclusion, monitoring snake hematological and biochemical parameters can serve as a means to evaluate the physiological and health status of N. naja populations, which may be a useful indicator of their environmental status.

Highlights

Hematology and plasma biochemistry parameters are useful in the assessment and management of snake physiological status
The proportions of heterophils including potential eosinophils, which could not be definitively identified by morphology alone, lymphocytes, basophils, and combined monocytes were classified through manual counts of blood smears as previously published by us [9,10]
In female snakes the long (17.63 ± 0.67 μm) and short (11.17 ± 0.31 μm) erythrocyte axes remained equal in size in all cells

Summary

Introduction

Hematology and plasma biochemistry parameters are useful in the assessment and management of snake physiological status. Blood profiles provide a minimally invasive tool to assess the health condition in live reptiles that may be influenced literature on the hematology and plasma biochemistry reference ranges for non-venomous snakes, while venomous snake species have been studied very sparsely [5,16,17,18,19,20,21]. The majority of the hematological studies carried out on different reptile species have dealt with blood composition, as well as blood cell counts and sizes [15,16]. The hematological studies on various snake species are related only to blood cell sizes and counts [22,23]. The cholesterol concentration in reptile blood varies among species, as reported in Alligator mississippiensis (50 mg), Crotalus atrox (100– 172 mg), Vipera aspis (220 mg), and Sitana ponticeriana (4–13 mg); [8,31,32,33]

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