Rat

Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents, reducing suffering in projects involving...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.

Ultrasonic vocalisation as a measure of positive welfare in rats

Studies of animal welfare in laboratory animals have historically relied on the measurement of negative indicators rather than the assessment of positive indicators of welfare. Practical methods of welfare assessment are required to allow refinement of housing and experimental protocols....

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Jones, T., Robinson, M., Leach, M. et al. 2017. Ultrasonic vocalisation as a measure of positive welfare in rats. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 127-129.

A refinement to Schedule 1

There are varying methods used for animal restraint and angle of injection. It remains unclear whether one method is more accurate than others. The primary objectives were to examine whether inverted restraint of rats resulted in more effective outcomes and...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Read, H., Perry, R. 2018. A refinement to Schedule 1. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 117-120.

Introduction of gang caging for group housed rats

Using an existing gang cage designed for ferrets, we developed a version that would be suitable for housing rats. Caging consisted of 3 floors with a combined floor area of 11620m, connected by 2 ladders. Each individual unit can be...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Clarke, D., Ioannou, L. 2018. Introduction of gang caging for group housed rats. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 136-137.

Female rats display fewer optimistic responses in a judgment bias test in the absence of a physiological stress response

Metabolic cages are a type of housing used in biomedical research. Metabolic cage housing has been demonstrated to elicit behavioural and physiological changes in rodents housed within them. The nature of this effect has been characterized as anxiogenic. However, few...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Barker, T. H., Bobrovskaya, L., Howarth, G. S. et al. 2017. Female rats display fewer optimistic responses in a judgment bias test in the absence of a physiological stress response. Physiology & Behavior 173, 124-131.

Efficacy of common analgesics for postsurgical pain in rats

I have some comments about the use of ketoprofen for analgesia in rats discussed in the recent JAALASarticle by Waite and colleagues.3 One of the conclusions reached by the authors was that, for postsurgical pain, “ketoprofen was effective when given...

Year Published: 2016Topics: AnalgesiaAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Shientag, L. J. 2016. Efficacy of common analgesics for postsurgical pain in rats. JAALAS 55(1), 7.

Assessing animal affect: An automated and self-initiated judgement bias task based on natural investigative behaviour

Scientific methods for assessing animal affect, especially affective valence (positivity or negativity), allow us to evaluate animal welfare and the effectiveness of 3Rs Refinements designed to improve wellbeing. Judgement bias tasks measure valence; however, task-training may be lengthy and/or require...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Jones, S., Neville, V., Higgs, L. et al. 2018. Assessing animal affect: An automated and self-initiated judgement bias task based on natural investigative behaviour. Scientific Reports 8, 12400.

The importance of burrowing, climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats

Standard laboratory cages prevent rats (Rattus norvegicus) from performing many behaviours that they perform in the wild, but little is known about how this may affect their welfare. The aims of this study were (i) to record the propensity to...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2016. The importance of burrowing, climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats. Royal Society Open Science 3, 160136.

Benefits of 21% oxygen compared with 100% oxygen for delivery of isoflurane to mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus)

At research institutions, isoflurane delivered by precision vaporizer to a face mask is the standard for rodent surgery and for procedures with durations that exceed a few minutes. Pure oxygen is often used as the carrier gas for isoflurane anesthesia,...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Anesthesia & SedationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wilding, L. A., Hampel, J. A., Khoury, B. M. et al. 2017. Benefits of 21% oxygen compared with 100% oxygen for delivery of isoflurane to mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(2), 148-154.

A device that allows rodents to behaviorally thermoregulate when housed in vivariums

Laboratories and vivariums typically are maintained at ambient temperatures of 20 to 24 °C, leading to cold stress in mice. When mice are inactive and sleeping during the light phase, their zone of thermoneutrality associated with a basal metabolic rate...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Gordon, C. J., Puckett, E. T., Repasky, E. S. et al. 2017. A device that allows rodents to behaviorally thermoregulate when housed in vivariums. JAALAS 56(2), 173-176.