Exploratory values for venous blood gas analysis of clinically healthy Hermann's tortoises (Testudo hermanni)

Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is included in the red list of endangered species by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is classified as near-threatened (NT); medical information and knowledge of this species is critically important for preserving the population. Blood gas analysis is being increasingly studied in veterinary medicine, but its main application in chelonian medicine is to assess the health status of marine chelonians; it is not often used for tortoises in field conservational studies or client-owned pet care.

The aim of this study was to obtain exploratory values for pH, pCO₂, pO₂, ctHb, sO₂, Hct, cK⁺, cNa⁺, cCa⁺⁺, cCl^-, cGlu, cLac, cBase, mOsm, cHCO₃^-, ctCO₂ and anion gap for venous blood from clinically healthy Testudo hermanni using a Radiometer™ ABL735GLAXP® blood gas analyzer to serve as a starting point for further studies.

Samples were collected from 38 healthy individuals at both the end of July and the end of September; blood gas tests were performed immediately after sample collection. The data were analyzed to verify the distribution and obtain the exploratory values.

The values obtained were similar to those reported in the literature for analytes such as pH, cK⁺, cNa⁺, cCl^-, and mOsm; the cGlu value differed from those reported in the literature. For the remaining analytes, reference intervals for Testudo hermanni were unknown and were compared to values obtained for other chelonian species.

Exploratory values for venous blood gas analysis were obtained; those values can be used to further investigate this type of diagnostic test and expand the knowledge and methods at the disposal of tortoise clinicians.