Rat

Handling during routine care affects responses of laboratory rats toward humans

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Pankseep, J., Newberry, R. C. 2008. Handling during routine care affects responses of laboratory rats toward humans. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 64-65 (Abstract).

Use of a conditioning technique to reduce stress associated with repeated intra-peritoneal injections in laboratory rats

The chromodacryorrhea results suggest that handling restraint produced short-term stress and that an additional stressor (injection) superimposed upon handling did not generally result in a stronger stress response. Pairing of rewards with injection did not alleviate the stress response of...

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2008. Use of a conditioning technique to reduce stress associated with repeated intra-peritoneal injections in laboratory rats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 112(1-2), 158-173.

Comparison of Technicians’ Ability to Detect Clinical Signs in Rats Housed in Wire-bottom versus Solid-bottom Cages with Bedding

Rodent toxicology studies have historically been performed in wire-bottom cages, but the 1996 Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals recommends solid-bottom caging with bedding. Some investigators have expressed concern that changing to solid-bottom cages would interfere with...

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Van Vleet, T. R., Rhodes, J. W., Waites, C. R. et al. 2008. Comparison of Technicians' Ability to Detect Clinical Signs in Rats Housed in Wire-bottom versus Solid-bottom Cages with Bedding. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science] 47(2).

Enriching the matabolic cage: effects on rat physiology and behaviour

Metabolic cages are used for housing rats and mice for up to five days for collection of urine and/or faeces. The small, barren area of the metabolic cage compromises animal welfare as the animals lack a solid floor, shelter, nest...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Sorensen, D. B., Mortensen, K., Bertelsen, T. et al. 2008. Enriching the matabolic cage: effects on rat physiology and behaviour. Animal Welfare 17, 395-403.

An investigation in the use of forage grains for laboratory rats

Small grains were scattered on the bedding rather than placed in food hopper. This added enrichment whilst maintaining the integrity of the study.

Year Published: 2008Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Rownetree, M. 2008. An investigation in the use of forage grains for laboratory rats. AATEX (Alternatives to Animal Testing and Experimentation) 14(Special Issue), 65-67.

An alternative method of rat restraint

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Roberts, L., Dyson, M. 2008. An alternative method of rat restraint. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 13(6), 2.

Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn to discuss current welfare research and to exchange views on rodent welfare issues. A key aim of the group is to encourage people to think about the lifetime experience...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Euthanasia, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Reed, B., Hawkins, P., Latham, N. et al. 2008. Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Lab Animal 37(5), 216-222.

Novel food items as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits

This column discusses the use of novel dietary supplements as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Items are commercially available from lab animal supply companies. The purpose of enrichment is to encourage behaviors that are appropriate for a particular species...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brown, C. 2009. Novel food items as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Lab Animal 38(4), 119-120.

Social buffering of the stress response: Diversity, mechanisms, and functions

Protracted or repeated activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) system is associated with a variety of physical and psychological pathologies. Studies dating back to the 1970s have documented many cases in which the presence of a social companion can moderate HPA...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Bird, Dog, Finch, Guinea Pig, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal, Other Nonhuman Primate, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Squirrel Monkey

Citation: Hennessy MB, Kaiser S, Sachser N. 2009. Social buffering of the stress response: Diversity, mechanisms, and functions. Frontiers in Neuroendocrin. 30;470-82.

Setting the pace for retinal development: Environmental enrichment acts through insulin-like growth factor 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Environmental enrichment strongly affects visual system maturation both at retinal and cortical levels. Which molecular pathways are activated by an enriched environment (EE) to regulate visual system development has not been clarified. Here, we show that early [postnatal day 1...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Landi S, Ciucci F, Maffei L, et al. 2009. Setting the pace for retinal development: Environmental enrichment acts through insulin-like growth factor 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. J Neurosci. 29;10809-10819.