Diagnostic Clinical Pathology of Tortoises

Cheryl Moller; J Jill Heatley

doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2022.05.007

Diagnostic Clinical Pathology of Tortoises

Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2022 Sep;25(3):755-783. doi: 10.1016/j.cvex.2022.05.007.

Authors

Cheryl Moller¹, J Jill Heatley²

Affiliations

¹ ANTECH Diagnostics, 17260 Mt Herrmann Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708, USA. Electronic address: cheryl.moller@gmail.com.
² Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.

PMID: 36122950
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2022.05.007

Abstract

Clinicopathologic evaluation of terrestrial tortoises is useful for health assessment and monitoring. There are specific considerations when evaluating data from these species, including sex, age, time of year/season, reproductive status, diet, captive versus wild, geographic location, methodology, and anticoagulant. The authors describe sample collection, hematology, biochemistry, and urinalysis features of terrestrial tortoises and discuss clinical relevance.

Keywords: Biochemistry; Clinical pathology; Hematology; Reptile; Tortoise; Urinalysis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Anticoagulants
Hematology*
Pathology, Clinical*
Reproduction
Turtles*

Substances

Anticoagulants