Rodent

Most preferred light color of female Syrian hamster during day and night

The light regulation within laboratory environments is critical for ensuring the wellbeing and accurate study of nocturnal animals like Syrian hamsters. This study evaluated the instinctual light color preferences of 18 adult female Syrian hamsters under controlled conditions. The experiment...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Shadman, A. F. 2025. Most preferred light color of female Syrian hamster during day and night. Laboratory Animals 59(4), 518–522.

Individually ventilated cages severely attenuate inter-cage ultrasonic vocalizations in rats

Individually ventilated cages (IVCs) benefit rodent and researcher health but may limit animals’ ability to communicate with cage-neighbours via ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Despite USVs’ importance in rodent social behaviour, no previous research has investigated IVCs’ impact on between-cage USV transmission....

Year Published: 2025Topics: Housing, VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Scott, K. J., Bilkey, D. K. 2025. Individually ventilated cages severely attenuate inter-cage ultrasonic vocalizations in rats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 28(4), 730–739.

Improving pain management for murine orthotopic xenograft models of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Despite ongoing research, realistic in vitro models for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that can mimic the complex pathology are still not available, highlighting the need for continuous animal-based investigation. As part of the 3R principles, constant refinement of animal experiments...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Analgesia, Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Schreiber, T., Lange, S., Talbot, S. R. et al. 2025. Improving pain management for murine orthotopic xenograft models of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Lab Animal 54(11), 313–320.

Social housing conditions, hierarchical status and testing order affect behavioral test outcomes of male C57BL6/J mice

Male mice are frequently used for behavioral neuroscience research, but outcomes of behavioral tests are often variable across studies, contributing to poor reproducibility. Social housing conditions, social hierarchical status and within-cage order of testing are factors that likely influence behavioral...

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

Citation: Schipper, L., van Heijningen, S., Karapetsas, G. et al. 2025. Social housing conditions, hierarchical status and testing order affect behavioral test outcomes of male C57BL6/J mice. Physiology & Behavior 293, 114859.

Refining in-cage enrichment for specialized mouse scenarios

Environmental enrichment is a critical component of a high-quality animal care and use program to provide opportunities for species-specific behaviors and redirect abnormal repetitive behaviors. We used a scoring system to review our enrichment for singly housed mice to assess...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Oldham, S., Minton, E., Ford, M. et al. 2025. Refining in-cage enrichment for specialized mouse scenarios. JAALAS 64(5), 968–976.

Enriched environment prevents hypernociception and depression-like behavior in a psychiatric disorder and neuropathic pain comorbidity experimental condition

Pain is a multifactorial debilitating condition associated with some psychiatric comorbidities such as generalized anxiety and depression. Concerning pharmacological treatment, which is often inefficient or associated with intense side effects, the physical and social context may be fundamental for patient’s...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Medeiros, P., Medeiros, A. C., de Freitas, R. L. et al. 2025. Enriched environment prevents hypernociception and depression-like behavior in a psychiatric disorder and neuropathic pain comorbidity experimental condition. Physiology & Behavior 291, 114795.

Applicability of the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method for assessing reward-related behaviors in mice

Oral gavage is the standard method for acute or chronic per os treatments in laboratory rodents. It can, however, induce significant stress responses and compromise the welfare of animals. To mitigate these concerns, we recently introduced the micropipette-guided drug administration...

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

Citation: Krzyzaniak, O., Steiner, S., Nilsson, F. A. M. et al. 2025. Applicability of the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method for assessing reward-related behaviors in mice. Physiology & Behavior 299, 114967.

Hidden in plain sound: The scientific potential of house mouse squeaks

The house mouse (Mus musculus) is an emerging model organism for the study of vocal communication. While mice emit a diversity of calls, most publications on adult mouse vocalizations primarily focus on ultrasonic vocalizations and only a small proportion include...

Year Published: 2025Topics: VocalizationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Keesom, S. M., Leuner, L. R., Hood, K. E. et al. 2025. Hidden in plain sound: The scientific potential of house mouse squeaks. Biology Letters 21(8), 20250333.

Effects of dietary restriction on regulation of energy metabolism in male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Laboratory rats are most often fed ad libitum (AL), but dietary restriction (DR) is commonly used to provide appropriate experimental designs. The current methods of DR have shortcomings; animals are often subjected to social isolation, periods of fasting, and disturbed...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kasanen, I. H. E., Inhilä, K. J., Nevalainen, T. O. et al. 2025. Effects of dietary restriction on regulation of energy metabolism in male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 64(4), 744–749.

Diet gel-based oral drug delivery system for controlled dosing of small molecules for microglia depletion and inducible Cre recombination in mice

Small molecules such as PLX5622 for microglia depletion and tamoxifen for inducible Cre recombination are commonly used in mouse research. Traditional application methods such as drug-infused chow, oral gavage or injections have limitations, including uncontrolled dosing (chow) or risk of...

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

Citation: Jovanovic, J., Stone, M. L., Dooyema, S. R. et al. 2025. Diet gel-based oral drug delivery system for controlled dosing of small molecules for microglia depletion and inducible Cre recombination in mice. Lab Animal 54(10), 278–285.