Rodent

Nesting material enrichment reduces severity of overgrooming-related self-injury in individually housed rats

Individual or singly-housing laboratory rats is common in many animal facilities, but has an adverse impact on the welfare of this social species. It has previously been shown that a small proportion of individually housed mice (∼5%) engage in pathological...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Khoo, S. Y.-S., Correia, V., Uhrig, A. 2020. Nesting material enrichment reduces severity of overgrooming-related self-injury in individually housed rats. Laboratory Animals 54(6), 546-558.

Now hear this: Caring for chinchillas in research

This article describes the authors’ experience with the housing, social housing, husbandry, handling, and environmental enrichment of chinchillas in laboratories.

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Chinchilla

Citation: LaFleur, R. A., Williams-Fritze, M. J. 2020. Now hear this: Caring for chinchillas in research. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(5) (September/October), 8-12.

Not all mice are alike: Mixed-strain housing alters social behaviour

The use of millions of mice in scientific studies worldwide emphasises the continuing need for a reduction of sample sizes, however, not at the expense of scientific validity. Split-plot designs have been suggested to enhance statistical power while allowing a...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Bodden, C., Wewer, M., Kästner, N. et al. 2021. Not all mice are alike: Mixed-strain housing alters social behaviour. Physiology & Behavior 228, 113220.

Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Mice.

We, the people involved in animal care, are trying to develop improved methods of keeping our animals, methods which will take into account more of the animals' behavioral needs. We now have a large number of rabbits in runs which...

Year Published: 1988Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Mouse, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Love, J A., Gray, G., Boyd, J., Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Mice. Humane Innovations and Alternatives Vol. 2, 1988, p.47-50

The nocturnal activity of a commonly housed rodent: How African pygmy dormice (Graphiurus murinus) respond to an enriched environment?

Exotic rodents are becoming increasingly popular in industry; however, there is limited empirical evidence to guide husbandry practices. African pygmy dormice (Graphiurus murinus) are typical in this respect. This research aimed to determine the effect of environmental enrichment on the...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Other Rodent, Rodent

Citation: Lang, G. P. S. A., Rose, P. E., Nash, S. M. et al. 2020. The nocturnal activity of a commonly housed rodent: How African pygmy dormice (Graphiurus murinus) respond to an enriched environment? Journal of Veterinary Behavior 38, 82-88.

Body length as an objective marker of time to wean in laboratory mice

In laboratory mice, the 21-day weaning standard is the most commonly applied strategy across institutions. However, this strategy has numerous drawbacks, including potential for litter overlap, pup mortality, and weaning extensions. In pursuit of a more objective marker for weaning,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Wilson, R. L., Dupont, W. D., Hunter, C. L. et al. 2025. Body length as an objective marker of time to wean in laboratory mice. JAALAS 64(5), 962–967.

Thermoneutral environment improves mouse welfare and reduces stress in metabolic cages

Metabolic cages (MCs) are often used to collect feces and urine samples. However, the housing of mice in MCs can be stressful, potentially affecting parameters of interest. Here we compare our standard protocol for individual MC housing (4 days at 23 °C:...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Villiger, P., Calvet, C., Pastor-Arroyo, E. M. et al. 2025. Thermoneutral environment improves mouse welfare and reduces stress in metabolic cages. Lab Animal 54(11), 303–312.

A customised combination of environmental enrichment reduces aggression in CD-1 male mice

Murine aggression has profound implications on animal welfare and husbandry. This report examines how three distinct combinations of environmental enrichment – wheel, igloo and tunnel; wheel, igloo, and tunnel with nesting; and tunnel with nesting – affect aggressive behaviour in...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Veness, A., Galichet, C., Murphy, S. et al. 2025. A customised combination of environmental enrichment reduces aggression in CD-1 male mice. Laboratory Animals 59(5), 588–592.

Sex and strain differences in the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method in mice

To provide an alternative to oral gavage for per os treatments in laboratory mice, we have recently developed and introduced the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method. This procedure is based on the presentation of a palatable solution consisting of sweetened...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Steiner, S., Krzyzaniak, O., Nilsson, F. A. M. et al. 2025. Sex and strain differences in the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method in mice. Laboratory Animals 59(5), 578–587.

Managed care of naked mole-rats

Naked mole-rats are a burgeoning model species in the field of biomedical research and are also housed at many zoos throughout the world. These mammals possess many traits that have a large impact on the way that they are kept...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Identification Method, Rearing & Weaning, Relocation & Transport, Reproduction, Restraint, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mole Rat, Rodent

Citation: Smith, M., Buffenstein, R. 2021. Managed care of naked mole-rats. In: R. Buffenstein, T. J. Park, M. M. Holmes (Eds.), The Extraordinary Biology of the Naked Mole-Rat. Springer International Publishing, pp. 381–407.