Mouse

Middle-aged mice with enrichment-resistant stereotypic behaviour show reduced motivation for enrichment

For captive animals, living in barren conditions leads to stereotypic behaviour that is hard to alleviate using environmental enrichment. This resistance to enrichment is often explained via mechanisms that decouple abnormal behaviour from current welfare, such as "establishment": a hypothetical...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tilly, S.-L. C., Dallaire, J., Mason, G. J. 2010. Middle-aged mice with enrichment-resistant stereotypic behaviour show reduced motivation for enrichment. Animal Behaviour 80(3), 363-373.

Effects of increased interaction between research rodents and their handlers

We conclude that handling experimental animals more often than only at the time their cage is changes is beneficial.

Year Published: 2010Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Stewart, K. 2010. Effects of increased interaction between research rodents and their handlers. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 59(1) Winter, 28-29.

Clinical biochemistry parameters in C57BL/6J mice after blood collection from the submandibular vein and retroorbital plexus

Collection of blood from the submandibular vein allows simple and rapid processing of many animals without anesthesia and facilitates rapid recovery with no signs of pain and discomfort in the mice. Here we compared the submandibular vein and retroorbital plexus...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Fernandez, I., Pena, A., Del Teso, N. et al. 2010. Clinical biochemistry parameters in C57BL/6J mice after blood collection from the submandibular vein and retroorbital plexus. JAALAS 49(2), 202-206.

Evaluation of nesting materials for use in nude mouse colonies

Nesting material has been reported to be beneficial to mice by providing environmental enrichment as well as a means of thermoregulation. Cotton nesting material has been reported to cause conjunctivitis in athymic nude mice. We evaluated 3 different paper-based nesting...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Breegi, S. 2011. Evaluation of nesting materials for use in nude mouse colonies. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 782 (Abstract #P171).

Working with what you’ve got: Changes in thermal preference and behavior in mice with or without nest material

In laboratories mice are typically housed at ambient temperatures (Ta) of 20–24 °C, which are below their average preferred Ta of ≈30 °C. Adjusting laboratory Ta is not a solution because preferences differ depending on activity, time of the day,...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Rohr, S., Lucas, J. R. et al. 2011. Working with what you've got: Changes in thermal preference and behavior in mice with or without nest material. Journal of Thermal Biology. 36(3), 193-199.

Post-surgical environmental enrichment in rodents

Environmental enrichment is a key component of rodent animal welfare since it influences the animal's overall well-being, provides opportunities for activity, and encourages rodent appropriate behaviors. Many aspects of rodent enrichment have received a significant amount of attention during the...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Social Housing & Companionship, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Baran, S. W., Froberg-Fejko, K., Lecker, J. et al. 2010. Post-surgical environmental enrichment in rodents. Enrichment Record 3, 4-6.

Using environmental enrichment to reduce fighting in mice

A colony of mice (base strain C57Bl6) was transferred to Oregon State University. Fighting was observed in six cages of males (2 to 5 mice per cage) at cage change, but not during daily checks. After discussion with the principal...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Araki, A. 2010. Using environmental enrichment to reduce fighting in mice. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 15(4), 6.

Quality of blood samples from the saphenous vein compared with the tail vein during multiple blood sampling of mice

A large number of methods for obtaining blood from mice have been published. In our facility, saphenous venepuncture is considered the method of choice for bleeding mice and is believed to have a number of welfare advantages when performed correctly....

Year Published: 2010Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Aasland, K. E., Skjerve, E., Smith, A. J. 2010. Quality of blood samples from the saphenous vein compared with the tail vein during multiple blood sampling of mice. Laboratory Animals 44(1), 25-29.

The effect of three different items of cage furniture on the behaviour of male C57BL/6J mice in the plus-maze test

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of specific regimens of enrichment on the behaviour of C57BL/6J mice in the elevated plus-maze test (EPM). A total of 192 male C57BL/6J mice were allocated randomly to 32 cages....

Year Published: 2010Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Õkva, K., Nevalainen, T., Mauranen, K. et al. 2010. The effect of three different items of cage furniture on the behaviour of male C57BL/6J mice in the plus-maze test. Animal Welfare 19(4), 401-409.

Cage enrichment with paper tissue, but not plastic tunnels, increases variability in mouse model of asthma

Environmental enrichment, besides having a great impact on animal welfare, can also be a potential variable in experimental research. Thus, we investigated whether enrichment of cages with paper tissues or plastic tunnels affects scientific outcome in the well-described mouse model...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Pasalic, I., Bosnjak, B., Ivetic Tkalcevic, V. et al. 2011. Cage enrichment with paper tissue, but not plastic tunnels, increases variability in mouse model of asthma. Laboratory Animals 45(2), 121-123.