Achados hematológicos em Iguana iguana (Reptilia, Squamata, Iguanidae) com hemoparasitose em Santarém, Pará, Brasil

Reptile biology may be directly related to hematological values, since some parameters may vary according to sex, seasonality, temperature, diet and reproductive status. For the western region of Para State, there is no information about the presence of hemoparasites in Iguana iguana and the possible hematological alterations they cause. Thus, this study aimed to identify the presence of hemoparasites, and the hematological alterations caused by them, in I. iguana in the municipality of Santarem, Para, Brazil. The search for hemoparasites was performed on blood smears with hematological dye analyzed under a light microscope at 1,000x magnification. Hematological values were obtained by counting in a Neubauer chamber using 0.01% toluidine blue reagent. Hemoparasite infection was observed in 18 animals (10 males and 8 females). There were no statistically significant differences between genders and leukocyte, thrombocyte and red blood cell values. There is hemoparasite infection in I. iguana in the region. The relationship between this hemoparasite and the host appears to have little pathogenicity in causing significant changes in leukocyte, red blood cell and thrombocyte values.