Rat

Let sleeping rats lie: Does the timing of husbandry procedures affect laboratory rat behaviour, physiology and welfare?

Light phase treatment rats thus displayed indicators of reduced welfare (e.g. less sleep, elevated chromodacryorrhoea, lighter thymus glands, higher aggression) relative to dark phase treatment rats. Therefore, husbandry procedures applied in the dark rather than the light phase might improve...

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat

Citation: Abou-Ismail, U. A., Burman, O. H. P., Nicol, C. J. et al. 2008. Let sleeping rats lie: Does the timing of husbandry procedures affect laboratory rat behaviour, physiology and welfare? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 111(3-4), 329-341.

Environmental enrichment enhances spatial cognition in rats by reducing thigmotaxis (wall hugging) during testing

Rats, Rattus norvegicus, housed with environmental enrichment do better in tests of spatial cognition than rats housed in barren cages. The leading hypothesis is that exposure to social and inanimate complexity leads to better cognitive-processing abilities, which directly enhances performance...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Harris, A. P., D'Eath, R. B., Healy, S. D. 2009. Environmental enrichment enhances spatial cognition in rats by reducing thigmotaxis (wall hugging) during testing . Animal Behaviour 77, 1459-1464.

Effect of playful handling during routine care on anxiety-related responses of laboratory rats

Regular playful handling reduced fear of familiar humans but did not decrease anxiety.

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat

Citation: Cloutier, S., Panksepp, J., Newberry, R. C. 2009. Effect of playful handling during routine care on anxiety-related responses of laboratory rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 80 (Abstract).

Tickled pink

When researchers interact playfully, even briefly, with the rats in their care, the rats' quality of life is made substantially better.

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2009. Tickled pink. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 58(2), 24-25.

The effect of dividing walls, a tunnel, and restricted feeding on cardiovascular responses to cage change and gavage in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Cage change and gavage are routine procedures in animal facilities, yet little is known about whether housing modifications change responses to these procedures. Telemetric activity and cardiovascular parameters were assessed in this experiment. BN and F344 male rats were housed...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kemppinen, N. M., Meller, A. S., Mauranen, K. O. et al. 2009. The effect of dividing walls, a tunnel, and restricted feeding on cardiovascular responses to cage change and gavage in rats (Rattus norvegicus) . Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science] 48(2), 157-165.

Lab toys – How does cage enrichment affect rodents?

Excellent review of practical questions pertaining to environmental enrichment for rats and mice.

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Katsnelson, A. 2009. Lab toys - How does cage enrichment affect rodents? The Scientist 23(10), 30.

Effects of physical activiy and group size on animal welfare in laboratory rats

Ras kept in larger groups had more social interactions and an improved performance in the exercise test and did also show more explorative activity and reduced emotional reactivity.''

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Spangenberg, E., Dahlborn, K., Ess?n-Gustavsson, B. et al. 2009. Effects of physical activiy and group size on animal welfare in laboratory rats. Animal Welfare 8, 159-169.

Decline in aggression in cotton rats through the use of enrichment

The cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) presents a unique susceptibility towards human pathogens and is currently used in studies of human respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, and parainfluenza virus. Though valuable, this animal model has earned a challenging reputation with husbandry, veterinary,...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Neubauer, T. L., Zabriskie, R., Buckmaster, C. A. 2009. Decline in aggression in cotton rats through the use of enrichment. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 609 (Abstract #P157).

There’s a rat in my room! Now what? Mice show now chronic physiological response to the presence of rats

The study concluded that housing rats and mice in the same room is at least less disturbing than cage cleaning.

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Meijer, M. K., van Loo, P. L. P., Baumans, V. 2009. There's a rat in my room! Now what? Mice show now chronic physiological response to the presence of rats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 12, 293-305.

Adult rats exposed to early-life social isolation exhibit increased anxiety and conditioned fear behavior, and altered hormonal stress responses

Social isolation of rodents during development is thought to be a relevant model of early-life chronic stress. We investigated the effects of early-life social isolation on later adult fear and anxiety behavior, and on corticosterone stress responses, in male rats....

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lukkes, J. L., Mokin, M. V., Scholl, J. L. et al. 2009. Adult rats exposed to early-life social isolation exhibit increased anxiety and conditioned fear behavior, and altered hormonal stress responses. Hormones and Behavior 55, 248-256.