Rat

Play makes rats more user-friendly

Rats - used for behavioral experiments - are routinely exposed to a play cage without any adverse effects.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Deacon, R. 2001. Play makes rats more user-friendly . Animal Technology 52, 51-52.

Tickling induces reward in adolescent rats

In adolescent rats, 50-kHz vocalizations are most evident during tickling and rough-and-tumble play. The following experiments evaluated whether 50-kHz vocalizations reflect positive social affect by determining (1) if tickling is a rewarding event, (2) if social or isolate housing conditions...

Year Published: 2001Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Burgdorf, J., Panksepp, J. 2001. Tickling induces reward in adolescent rats. Physiology and Behavior 72, 167-173.

The cage preferences of laboratory rats

The rats did not show significant preferences for most of the options [e.g., toys] over an empty cage. The exceptions were shredded paper, a nesting box and a semi-enriched condition incorporating a range of modifications.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. G., Harper, D. N., Hunt, M. 2001. The cage preferences of laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 35, 74-79.

The effect of brief halothane anesthesia during daily gavage administration on complications and body weights in rats

5 of 9 rats gavaged without anesthesia died within 10 days.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Murphy, S. J., Smith, P., Shaivitz A.B. 2001. The effect of brief halothane anesthesia during daily gavage administration on complications and body weights in rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(2), 9-12.

Practical environmental enrichment for rats and mice (The results of a survey)

The overall aim of this report is .. to share best practice and offer some suggestions as to what can be done to improve the quality of life for the animals in our care.

Year Published: 2001Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mortell, N. 2001. Practical environmental enrichment for rats and mice (The results of a survey). Animal Technology 52, 1-19.

The rat floor pen: Fact or fantasy? Animal Technology 52, 33-34

Rats in [enriched] floor pens have better body condition and appear cleaner [than animals housed in cages]. They are also much more inquisitive and friendly than caged rats and come out when the technicians do their morning checks, because they...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Morrison, P. 2001. The rat floor pen: Fact or fantasy? Animal Technology 52, 33-34.

Estimates of appropriate number of rats: interaction with housing environment

The effect of enrichment [gnawing stick] on data variability is examined. The results indicate that some of the physiological parameters are susceptible to variability attributable to environmental modifactions in general whereas some are not.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mering, S., Kaliste-Korhonen, E., Nevalainen, T. 2001. Estimates of appropriate number of rats: interaction with housing environment. Laboratory Animals 35, 80-90.

The effect of sampling technique on pharmacokinetic parameters in rats: A comparison of tradition blood sampling methods with an automated sampler

The condition of the animal during collection of such fluids [blood, bile, urine, cerebrospinal fluid] may influence metabolism or excretion of the drug. Specifically, conditions that accelerate blood pressure, heart rate and endogenous metabolism can be expected to affect xenobiotic...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kissinger, C. B., Cregor, M., Hilt, R. et al. 2001. The effect of sampling technique on pharmacokinetic parameters in rats: A comparison of tradition blood sampling methods with an automated sampler. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 89 (Abstract).

Report of the 2000 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting

The following presentations are included in this database: A regulatory viewpoint on environmental stimulation in preclinical toxicology studies, by Jones D; Environmental enrichment for animals used in GLP [Good Laboratory Practice] toxicological studies, by Harding K; Escape behaviour in laboratory...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., Berdoy, M., Deacon, R. et al. 2001. Report of the 2000 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology 52, 29-42.

Training could prevent deaths due to rodent gavage procedure

We were surprised and shocked to note that 5 of 9 (56%) of the rats gavaged without anesthesia/sedation died within 10 days. The animals experienced gavage-related weight loss probably due to gavage-related injury leading to decreased food consumption. [in reference...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Rao, G. N., Peace, T. A., Hoskins, D. E. 2001. Training could prevent deaths due to rodent gavage procedure. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(4), 7-8.