Philippine Journal of Science
150 (3): 939-944, June 2021
ISSN 0031 – 7683
Date Received: 02 Dec 2020

Serum Biochemical Profile of Captive-bred Philippine
Crocodiles (Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935) Sub-adults

Janice A. Ragaza¹, Stephanie F. Velasquez^1,2, Marian Samantha M. Asuncion¹,
Elyssa Marie F. Torres¹, Rainier Manalo³, and Hendrik Freitag¹*

¹Department of Biology, Ateneo de Manila University
Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108 Philippines
²School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849 USA
³Crocodylus Porosus Philippines, Inc.
Kapalong, Davao del Norte 8113 Philippines

*Corresponding author: hfreitag@ateneo.edu

ABSTRACT

The Philippine crocodiles Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935 are a critically endangered species that necessitate minimally invasive diagnostic tools for their physiological state and health assessment. In the current study, we determined the reference ranges for the serum biochemistry of male and female captive-bred C. mindorensis sub-adults. We collected blood samples from the post-occipital venous sinus of six male and seven female captive-bred crocodile sub-adults at the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center and quantified the serum biochemical values for cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, glucose, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, total protein, and globulin. We defined reference ranges through the central 95% of the concentration values obtained. The uric acid concentrations were significantly different between male and female C. mindorensis sub-adults. Uric acid levels were higher (P = 0.035) in male sub-adults because of their higher food intake resulting from dominance and aggression during feeding times. Serum biochemical values of C. mindorensis exhibited similarities with and variations from other crocodile species. We briefly discussed the differences with other species and the influence of factors such as field and laboratory methodologies, environmental conditions, nutritional status, and size class.