Rat

Pre-exposure via wire-mesh partition reduces intraspecific aggression in male, wild-type Norway rats

There are instances when animals are introduced and expected to live alongside unfamiliar conspecifics within zoos, laboratories and wildlife sanctuaries. These pairings of unfamiliar animals may result in stress, trauma, or even death, in addition to reduced confidence in data...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Stryjek, R., Modlinska, K. 2022. Pre-exposure via wire-mesh partition reduces intraspecific aggression in male, wild-type Norway rats. Animal Welfare 31(2), 175-186.

Thinking outside the lab: Can studies of pet rats inform pet and laboratory rat welfare?

Surveys provide a low-cost means to obtain large amounts of data that are ideal for conducting exploratory research, and they are becoming an increasingly valuable tool in a veterinary context. We investigated whether surveys of pet rat owners might provide...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Handling, Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Neville, V., Mounty, J., Benato, L., Hunter, K. et al. 2022. Thinking outside the lab: Can studies of pet rats inform pet and laboratory rat welfare? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246, 105507.

An apparatus for automatically training and collecting individualized behavioral data with socially housed rodents

Background: Conventional methods for individually housing, training, and testing rodents in behavioral assays can impose constraints that may limit some kinds of experimental external validity, preempt environmental enrichment, impose heavy experimenter time burdens that limit high-throughput data collection, and negatively...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Behavioral & Cognitive Testing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Butcher, G., Davidson, A., Sloanc, A. et al. 2021. An apparatus for automatically training and collecting individualized behavioral data with socially housed rodents. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 365, 109387.

Use of running plates by floor housed rats: A pilot study

The outfit of husbandry facilities of, and the enrichment provided for, experimental rodents plays an important role in the animals' welfare, and hence also for the societal acceptance of animal experiments. Whether rats and mice benefit from being provided with...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Frei, J., Clauss, M., Winkler, D. E. et al. 2021. Use of running plates by floor housed rats: A pilot study. Laboratory Animals 55(6), 521-530.

Attitudes of laboratory animal professionals and researchers towards carbon dioxide euthanasia for rodents and perceived barriers to change

Evidence indicates that carbon dioxide (CO2) induces negative affective states (including anxiety, fear and distress) in laboratory rodents, but many countries still accept it for euthanasia. Alternative methods (e.g. inhalant anaesthetic) may represent a refinement over CO2 but are not...

Year Published: 2021Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brunt, M. W., Améndola, L., Weary, D. M. 2021. Attitudes of laboratory animal professionals and researchers towards carbon dioxide euthanasia for rodents and perceived barriers to change. Laboratory Animals 55(6), 531-539.

Optimal colloidal water gel type and novel placement for frequent travelers

During transportation, animals must have a water source available to prevent dehydration. Some shipping facilities use potatoes whereas, others use colloidal water gels that provide a uniform water source. The problem occurs when colloidal water gel containers are placed on...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & Management, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Locklear, J., Whiteside, T. E. 2021. Optimal colloidal water gel type and novel placement for frequent travelers. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(6) (November/December), 38-40.

Replacing soiled bedding sentinel rodents with environmental health monitoring: Evidence and tips

Traditional rodent health monitoring programs involve transferring soiled bedding from colony cages to sentinel cages. While it can vary, the sentinel animals are ultimately euthanized after 3-6 mo of soiled bedding exposure. Using traditional soiled bedding sentinel rodents has several...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: LaFollette, M. R., Cunningham-Faughnan, T., Foley, P. L. et al. 2021. Replacing soiled bedding sentinel rodents with environmental health monitoring: Evidence and tips. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(6) (November/December), 46-48.

Can animals develop depression? An overview and assessment of “depression-like” states

Describing certain animal behaviours as 'depression-like' or 'depressive' has become common across several fields of research. These typically involve unusually low activity or unresponsiveness and/or reduced interest in pleasure (anhedonia). While the term 'depression-like' carefully avoids directly claiming that animals...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Bird, Cattle, Chicken, Dog, Equine, Fowl, Macaque, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Pig, Rat, Rodent

Citation: MacLellan, A., Fureix, C., Polanco, A. et al. 2021. Can animals develop depression? An overview and assessment of “depression-like” states. Behaviour 158(14/15), 1303–1353.

Comparison of nociceptive effects of buprenorphine, firocoxib, and meloxicam in a plantar incision model in Sprague–Dawley rats

Due to their reduced frequency of dosing and ease of availability, NSAIDs are generally preferred over opioids for rodent analgesia. We evaluated the efficacy of the highly COX2-selective NSAID firocoxib as compared with meloxicam and buprenorphine for reducing allodynia and...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Analgesia, Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Bennett, T. E., Pavek, T. J., Schwark, W. S. et al. 2021. Comparison of nociceptive effects of buprenorphine, firocoxib, and meloxicam in a plantar incision model in Sprague–Dawley rats. JAALAS 60(5), 539-548.

Infrared thermography in the study of animals’ emotional responses: A critical review

Whether animals have emotions was historically a long-lasting question but, today, nobody disputes that they do. However, how to assess them and how to guarantee animals their welfare have become important research topics in the last 20 years. Infrared thermography...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Cat, Cattle, Chicken, Chimpanzee, Dog, Equine, Fowl, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Bird, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Travain, T., Valsecchi, P. 2021. Infrared thermography in the study of animals' emotional responses: A critical review. Animals 11(9), 2510.