Comparative Analysis of Sperm Quality of the Greater Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) Collected by Masturbation and Epididymal Puncture, in Côte d'Ivoire

The aim of this study was to compare the semen parameters of manually collected male greater cane rats with those obtained by epididymal aspiration. 15 apparently healthy male greater cane rats, aged 7-13 months, reared in close captivity were used in this study. Thirty (30) semen samples were collected, fifteen (15) by masturbation during the first week and the other half by epididymal aspiration during the second week from the same subjects. The experiment was conducted in accordance with EU Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals in experiments. Semen evaluation included macroscopic and microscopic examination using the modified David's method. The mean volume of semen obtained by masturbation (0.6 ± 29.3 ml) was significantly higher than that obtained by aspiration (0.035 ± 0.4 ml). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a highly significant difference at P < 0.05 between the semen volumes obtained by the two collection methods. Comparative analysis of semen concentration values showed a significant difference P < 0.05 using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Collection by masturbation resulted in a mean sperm concentration of 154.33 ± 11.44 106/ml. This value is lower than that obtained by aspiration, which is 512.06 ± 1.1 106/ml. From the comparative analysis it can be concluded that the aspiration method provides good vitality and a higher sperm concentration.