Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA 70810, USA,
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2019 Sep;50(3):557-569. doi: 10.1638/2019-0004.
Investigation into antemortem semen collection methods in reptiles is required to counteract anthropogenic induced reptile biodiversity loss and to further develop assisted reproductive technologies in reptiles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether repeated electroejaculation under anesthesia could be done safely in the veiled chameleon (). Electroejaculation under anesthesia (alfaxalone 15 mg/kg intravenously) was performed once weekly over a 4-wk period in 12 . External vent appearance and cloacoscopy was performed prior to and after electroejaculation to assess the effect of the electroejaculation on the external and internal anatomy. Hematological and chemistry values were evaluated prior to the study and afterwards. Semen collection was successful in 50% of the electroejaculation events. Cloacoscopy images scores were significantly higher between the pre- and postelectroejaculation events for each week. No significant difference was observed between study week 1 prior to electroejaculation and study week 4 after electroejaculation in vent external morphology ( = 0.157), and internal cloacal scoring ( = 0.058). A significant increase in the white blood cell counts ( = 0.015), absolute heterophil counts ( = 0.02), absolute monocyte counts ( = 0.003), and albumin ( = 0.038) was observed between the pre- and postejaculation sampling periods. Aspartate aminotransferase ( = 0.001) and potassium ( = 0.036) decreased significantly between the pre- and postsampling periods. Vent image scores were significantly higher ( = 0.046) between the pre- and postsampling images collected during week 1; however, there were no significant differences noted between pre- and postsample images for weeks 2 (= 0.063), 3(= 0.083), or 4 (= 0.083). Serial electroejaculation procedures under alfaxalone anesthesia can be performed safely in veiled chameleons. Although changes were observed in the complete blood count and biochemistry results, these changes were determined to not be clinically significant. The results of this study demonstrate that antemortem assisted reproductive techniques such as electroejaculation can be safely used repeatedly.
研究爬行动物的生前精液采集方法对于对抗人为导致的爬行动物生物多样性丧失和进一步发展爬行动物辅助生殖技术至关重要。本研究的目的是评估在面纱蜥（Chamaeleo calyptratus）中是否可以安全地进行重复麻醉下电刺激射精。在 4 周的时间内，每周对 12 只动物进行一次麻醉下电刺激射精（静脉内给予 alfaxalone 15mg/kg）。在电刺激射精前后进行外部泄殖腔外观和窥阴镜检查，以评估电刺激射精对外部和内部解剖结构的影响。在研究之前和之后评估血液学和化学值。在 50%的电刺激射精事件中成功采集到精液。每周的前和后，泄殖腔镜图像评分均显著升高。在电刺激射精前的研究第 1 周和电刺激射精后的第 4 周之间，外部泄殖腔形态（=0.157）和内部泄殖腔评分（=0.058）无显著差异。白细胞计数（=0.015）、绝对嗜中性粒细胞计数（=0.02）、绝对单核细胞计数（=0.003）和白蛋白（=0.038）显著增加，在射精前和射精后采样期间。天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（=0.001）和钾（=0.036）在采样前和采样后显著降低。第 1 周采集的前和后样本的泄殖腔图像评分显著升高（=0.046）；然而，在第 2 周（=0.063）、第 3 周（=0.083）和第 4 周（=0.083）采集的前和后样本之间未发现显著差异。在 alfaxalone 麻醉下可以安全地进行重复的电刺激射精程序。虽然在全血细胞计数和生化结果中观察到变化，但这些变化被认为没有临床意义。本研究的结果表明，生前辅助生殖技术如电刺激射精可以安全地重复使用。
