Rat

Enriching rat living conditions

Rats housed in partially covered cages show less anxiety-related behavior than rats housed in clear or opaque cages.

Year Published: 2007Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2007. Enriching rat living conditions. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 56(4), 18-19.

Human activity and visual contact with the surrounding environment affect the stress response and behvior of laboratory rats

Providing rats with partial visual cover and controlling for levels of human exposure within rodent rooms could improve rat welfare and external validity of behavioral tests used in biomedical research.

Year Published: 2007Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2007. Human activity and visual contact with the surrounding environment affect the stress response and behvior of laboratory rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 24-25 (Abstract).

Acclimatization of rats after ground transportation to a new animal facility

This study aimed to assess the time needed by rats, which had not been previously transported, to acclimatize to a new environment after 5 h of van transport, using physiological parameters as measures of acclimatization. Animal shipping boxes and transport...

Year Published: 2007Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Capdevila, S., Giral, M., Ruiz de la Torre, J. L. et al. 2007. Acclimatization of rats after ground transportation to a new animal facility. Laboratory Animals 4(2), 255-261.

Use of environmentally enriched housing for rats with spinal cord injury: the need for standardization

In the present study, environmental enrichment did not improve the locomotion of rats with contusion thoracic SCI. Determining the effectiveness of environmental enrichment to improve locomotor recovery in the SCI model requires standardization of housing procedures, outcome measures, and analyses.

Year Published: 2007Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Burke, D. A., Magnuson, D. S. K., Nunn, C. D. et al. 2007. Use of environmentally enriched housing for rats with spinal cord injury: the need for standardization. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 46(2).

Ultrasonic vocalizations as indicators of welfare for laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Adult laboratory rats produce two distinct types of ultrasonic vocalization (USV) that appear to reflect the caller's emotional state, either positive (50 kHz) or negative (22 kHz). If these calls can influence the emotional state and related behaviour of group-mates,...

Year Published: 2007Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Burman, O. H. P., Ilyat, A., Jones, G. et al. 2007. Ultrasonic vocalizations as indicators of welfare for laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 104(1-2), 116-129.

Environmental enrichment: mirrors, music, toys, paper-based items and wooden objects

The literature suggests that mirrors may be useful to buffer isolation stress in some species. We do not really know if being forced to listen to loud music of the personnel's liking is also to the animals' liking. If it...

Year Published: 2007Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General, Dog, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: LAREF [Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum] 2007. Environmental enrichment: mirrors, music, toys, paper-based items and wooden objects. In: Making Lives Easier for Animals in Research Labs: Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Baumans, V., Coke, C., Green, J., Moreau, E., Morton, D., Patterson-Kane, E., Reinhardt, A., Reinhardt, V., Van Loo, P. (eds), 60-71. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Environmental enrichment: Shelter and nesting material for rodents and rabbits; bedding for rodents

The needs for a shelter and nesting material of mice and rats are quite different. Building their own nests is almost a must for mice, and the nest will then also be used as a retreat. For rats, access to...

Year Published: 2007Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: LAREF [Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum] 2007. Environmental enrichment:Shelter and nesting material for rodents and rabbits; bedding for rodents. In: Making Lives Easier for Animals in Research Labs: Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Baumans, V., Coke, C., Green, J., Moreau, E., Morton, D., Patterson-Kane, E., Reinhardt, A., Reinhardt, V., Van Loo, P. (eds), 74-79. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Capture of group-housed animals

Rats, mice and rabbits can be induced to come forward and be picked up by luring them with a food reward. Guinea pigs tend to be more timid but will run into a shelter in which they can then be...

Year Published: 2007Topics: Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Cat, Guinea Pig, Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: LAREF [Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum] 2007. Capture of group-housed animals. In: Making Lives Easier for Animals in Research Labs: Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Baumans, V., Coke, C., Green, J., Moreau, E., Morton, D., Patterson-Kane, E., Reinhardt, A., Reinhardt, V., Van Loo, P. (eds), 104-106. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

The effect of housing rats in a stimulus rich versus stimulus poor environment on preference measured by sigmoid double demand curves

The present experiment investigated if the double demand curve method is sensitive to differences in housing conditions. We tested if rats performed more pressing when housed under barren compared to stimulating conditions, and if cross-points were ultimately affected. The experiment...

Year Published: 2007Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Holm, L., Ladewig, J. 2007. The effect of housing rats in a stimulus rich versus stimulus poor environment on preference measured by sigmoid double demand curves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 107(3-4), 342-354.

Massage-like stroking of rats

Massage is an ancient treatment that still is commonly used in humans. Massage is reported to have several beneficial effects including activation of the relaxation and growth response that is proposed to be mediated by oxytocin (OT). In the present...

Year Published: 2007Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Holst, S. 2007. Massage-like stroking of rats. Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae 124, 124 (Abstract).