Mouse

Impact of environmental enrichment in mice

Animals at 3 weeks of age were marked and separated randomly to enriched or non-enriched cages, in groups of four, half for each housing condition. Both cages were type III Makrolon cages, only the enriched cages contained a nest box,...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tsai, P. P., Pachowsky, U., Stelzer, H. D. et al. 2002. Impact of environmental enrichment in mice. 1: Effect of housing conditions on body weight, organ weights and haematology in different strains. Laboratory Animals 36, 441-419.

Comfortable quarters for mice in research institutions

Very useful guidelines for the species-adequate housing of mice. In providing comfortable quarters for mice, there are several '-isms' we should avoid. We should avoid speceisism and remember there is no evidence to suggest that mice do NOT have the...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Sherwin, C. M. 2002. Comfortable quarters for mice in research institutions. In: Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals, Ninth Edition. Reinhardt, V. , Reinhardt, A. (eds.), 6-17. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Why every scientist should care about animal welfare: Abnormal repetitive behavior and brain function in captive animals

Barren laboratory housing also induces abnormal behaviors in many species, particularly stereotypies, fur and feather plucking, and self-mutilation. Similar behaviors in human mental disorder are correlated with dysfunction in brain areas that control the selection and sequencing of behavior. Experiments...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Abnormal/Problematic BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Garner, J. P. 2002. Why every scientist should care about animal welfare: Abnormal repetitive behavior and brain function in captive animals. Proceedings of the World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences, 95 (Abstract).

The effects of environmental enrichment on murine immune response

Breeding pairs in cages that included enrichment (nestlets, jars, a ladder) had significantly fewer litter than the pairs in cages that did not (p

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: VandeWound, S., Rollin, M., Avery, A. 2002. The effects of environmental enrichment on murine immune response. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 41(4), 69 (Abstract).

Influence of cage enrichment on aggressive behaviour and physiological parameters in male mice

From welfare perspective group housing of mice is preferred over individual housing. Group housing of male laboratory mice, however, often leads to problems due to excessive aggressive behaviour. ... Overall, nesting material reduced aggressive behaviour, while a shelter increased aggressive...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Van Loo, P. L. P., Kruitwagen, C. L. J. J., Koolhaas, J. M. et al. 2002. Influence of cage enrichment on aggressive behaviour and physiological parameters in male mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 76, 65-81.

Effects of environmental enrichment for mice: Variation in experimental results

Mice from enriched conditions [sawdust bedding, paper, nest box, climbing gird, gnawing blocks, tubes] weight more and consumed more food than mice from standard housing conditions. ... Mice from standard housing conditions were more active in an open field, suggesting...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Van de Weerd, H. A., Aarsen, E. L., Mulder, A. et al. 2002. Effects of environmental enrichment for mice: Variation in experimental results. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 5, 87-109.

Rodent environmental enrichment – animal welfare or human feel-good factor

This article discusses environmental enrichment for rodents, mainly mice and rats housed in conventional caging, in U.K. research facilities. Environmental enrichment should allow and encourage animals to perform normal behavioural patterns. Cage furniture cannot be a substitute for poor quality...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Applebee, K. A. 2002. Rodent environmental enrichment - animal welfare or human feel-good factor. Animal Technology and Welfare 1(2), 65-69.

Preferences for paper bedding material of the laboratory mice

In order to identify indicators of the preferences for bedding materials, the paper bedding material preferences of laboratory mice were investigated in the present study. Four cages, each containing a different structure of paper bedding material were connected to allow...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Ago, A., Gonda, T., Takechi, M. et al. 2002. Preferences for paper bedding material of the laboratory mice. Experimental Animals 51, 157-161.

Effects of different forms of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrinological, and immunological parameters in male mice

Animals were kept in groups of four males under three different housing conditions: (A) nonstructured Makrolon type III laboratory cages ( standard-housing = S); (B) equivalent laboratory cages that were enriched with a box and a scaffolding ( enriched-housing =...

Year Published: 2003Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Marashi, V., Barnekow, A., Ossendorf, E. et al. 2003. Effects of different forms of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrinological, and immunological parameters in male mice. Hormones and Behavior 43, 281-292.

Effects of housing density on C57BL/6J mice housed in three cage types

This 8-week study was initiated to investigate the impact of floor space on the health and well being of C57BL/6J (B6) mice, a strain commonly used by the scientific community. Male and female 4-week-old mice (sexes housed separately) were maintained...

Year Published: 2003Topics: Housing, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Mabus, S., Smith, E., Basso, C. et al. 2003. Effects of housing density on C57BL/6J mice housed in three cage types. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 93 (Abstract).