Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe haematological and blood biochemistry findings of farmed guanacos in central Chile, in order to establish reference values for this species in captivity. Haematological and clinical biochemical measurements were performed on blood and plasma respectively, from 40 clinically healthy guanacos (20 females and 20 castrated males), aged between 2 and 3 years. The effects of gender and seasons of the year were studied. Gender affected the number of lymphocytes and the ratio of neutrophils:lymphocytes (N/L), with castrated males having a lower number of lymphocytes and higher N/L ratio than females. Seasons of the year affected most variables, presenting greater packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), total protein (TP) and albumin values in winter than the rest of the seasons. White blood cells (WBCs) were not affected by season. Glucose decreased significantly over the year and creatine kinase (CK) activity, like glucose, had a tendency to decrease over the year, which may be related to habituation to sampling and handling. Haematological and clinical biochemistry values given in this study can serve as reference values for juvenile farmed guanacos in central Chile. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.