A hematologic and biochemical profile on 3-month-old hatchlings of Lepidochelys olivacea

The olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is globally distributed. However, the species is considered vulnerable. Additionally, hematological and biochemical data for this species are seldom published in the scientific literature. The aim of this study was to gather hematological and biochemical data on young L. olivacea, drawing comparisons with hematological and biochemical data already published for sea turtles. Blood samples from 23 olive ridley sea turtles were collected, and hematological and biochemical parameters were determined. Mean and standard deviation values were determined for the hematological and biochemical results. From these results, a comparison with the published results for other turtles was performed using a two-way ANOVA and a Bonferroni post-test. The results of this study are consistent with previous findings in other sea turtles. No differences were found between genders. The results of the present study could be used as reference values by veterinarians in the treatment of olive ridley turtles as well as other species of sea turtles. There is a need to standardize the samples and analyses used to determine the parameters evaluated here to allow the determination of reference values for marine turtles and more comparable results.