Rat

Sublingual blood collection in unanesthetized rats

This technique can be used with minimal resources while at the same time exposing the animal to minimal damage and discomfort.

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kohlert, D. J. 2009. Sublingual blood collection in unanesthetized rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 79 (Abstract).

Playful handling mitigates the stressfulness of injections in laboratory rats

Rats can be playfully handled (tickled) in a manner that mimics playful social contact with conspecifics. We hypothesized that the timing of tickling in relation to an intraperitoneal injection would affect the efficacy of tickling in reducing stress associated with...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Drug/Substance Administration, HandlingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Wahl, K., Newberry, R. C. 2010. Playful handling mitigates the stressfulness of injections in laboratory rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 721 (Abstract #P126).

Physiological and behavioural responses of laboratory rats housed at different tier levels and levels of visual contact with conspecifics and humans

Laboratory rats are typically housed in clear or opaque cages on multi-tiered racks. Clear-walled cages allow a view of the room and facilitate visual social contact with neighbouring rats but may induce anxiety due to lack of visual cover. We...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2010. Physiological and behavioural responses of laboratory rats housed at different tier levels and levels of visual contact with conspecifics and humans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 125(1-2), 69-79.

Organic wheatgrass as environmental enrichment

Environmental enrichment must be provided for the various animal species that are housed in laboratory animal facilities. Wheatgrass can be used as a natural form of enrichment that requires minimal preparation and effort. Wheatgrass is appropriate enrichment for cats, rabbits,...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Cat, Chicken, Finch, Guinea Pig, Mouse, Other Bird, Parrot, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brown, C. 2010. Organic wheatgrass as environmental enrichment. Lab Animal 39(3), 74-75.

Enrichment and behavioral management programs around the world

To do justice to the diverse approaches to enrichment and behavioral management around the world would entail a discussion beyond the limits of this publication. Therefore, guidelines and regulations in a representative sample of countries in select regions of the...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Bayne, K. 2010. Enrichment and behavioral management programs around the world. Enrichment Record 4, 4-7.

A simple improvement of rodent tunnels for environmental enrichment

We found commercially available rodent tunnels are too small in diameter when the rat reaches a size

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Newman, A. 2010. A simple improvement of rodent tunnels for environmental enrichment. Animal Technology and Welfare 9, 57-58.

Clinical pathology and cardiovascular parameters are not influenced by housing rats under increased environmental complexity

Since the release of the revised Appendix A from the Council of Europe for housing of laboratory animals there have been claims that laboratory animals should be housed under more complex conditions; known popularly as enrichment. A number of studies...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mikkelsen, L. F., Sørensen, D. B., Krohn, T. et al. 2010. Clinical pathology and cardiovascular parameters are not influenced by housing rats under increased environmental complexity. Animal Welfare 19(4), 449-460.

Environmental-enrichment-related variations in behavioral, biochemical, and physiologic responses of Sprague-Dawley and Long Evans rats

The behavioral, biochemical, and physiologic consequences of 6 wk of environmental enrichment were evaluated in male Long Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats and compared with those of rats in standard single-housing conditions. Standard housing provided little or no social or physical...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Konkle, A. T. M., Kentner, A. C., Baker, S. L. et al. 2010. Environmental-enrichment-related variations in behavioral, biochemical, and physiologic responses of Sprague-Dawley and Long Evans rats. JAALAS 49(4), 427-436.

The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use: Refinement, Reduction, and Research (1st Ed)

COST Action B-24 established four working groups to research and discuss issues relevant to laboratory animal science. These included the housing of animals, environmental needs, refinement of procedures, genetically modified animals, and cost-benefit analysis. Based on the groups' findings, The...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, Handling, Housing, Regulations & Ethical Review, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Howard, B., Nevalainen, T., Perretta, G. (ed). 2010. The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use: Refinement, Reduction, and Research (1st Ed). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents (5th Ed.)

The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents provides concise, up - to - date, reasonably comprehensive information to anyone concerned with the health, care, and management of rabbits and rodents. The book is intended for veterinarians, students, technicians, scientists,...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Harkness, J. E., Turner, P. V., Vande Woude, S. et al. 2010. Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents (5th Ed.). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, Iowa.