Rodent

Assessing laboratory life for Golden Hamsters: Social preference, caging selection, and human interaction

Female hamsters preferred social contact with other females to solitary housing. Group-housing was associated with wounding from fights and higher rates of obesity. Since these animal prefer contact with conspecifics, and since group-housed hamsters are easier for humans to handle...

Year Published: 1994Animal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Arnold, C. E., Gillaspy, S. 1994. Assessing laboratory life for Golden Hamsters: Social preference, caging selection, and human interaction. Lab Animal 23(2), 34-37.

Increasing welfare of laboratory rats with the help of spatially enhanced cages

Rats tend to 'shy away' from the center of barren cages. Instead they prefer to spend most their time in contact with surrounding walls of the cage, seldom using the floor space available in the center. A cage equipped with...

Year Published: 1994Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Anzaldo, A. J., Harrison, P. C., Riskowski, G. L. et al. 1994. Increasing welfare of laboratory rats with the help of spatially enhanced cages. Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) Newsletter 5(3), 1-2 & 5.

Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents

What is in general understood by 'enrichment' is in fact no more than providing the animals with the possibilities to fulfill their basic needs, as we consider their species specific behaviour. .. Perhaps it would be more honest to use...

Year Published: 1995Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rodent

Citation: Baumans, V. , Van de Weerd, H. A. 1995. Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents. In: Proceedings of the Animals in Science Conference, Perspectives of Their Use, Care and Welfare. Johnston, N. E. (ed.), 152-156. Research Ethics Unit, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

Effects of housing on male and female rats: Crowding stresses males but calms females

Male rats had higher plasma corticosterone levels when housed in groups than when housed individually. Corticosterone levels increased with decreasing space allowance for the group. Females on the other hand had highest corticosterone when housed alone, and increasing social density...

Year Published: 1995Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brown, K. J., Grunberg, N. E. 1995. Effects of housing on male and female rats: Crowding stresses males but calms females. Physiology and Behavior 58, 1085-1089.

Development and application of a preference test system to evaluate housing conditions for laboratory rats

Both albino and pigmented rats preferred cages with relatively low light intensities (100 lx are aversive to rats, and may be experienced as unpleasant.

Year Published: 1995Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Blom, H. J. M., van Tintelen, G., Baumans, V. et al. 1995. Development and application of a preference test system to evaluate housing conditions for laboratory rats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 44, 279-290.

The visible burrow system as a model of chronic social stress: Behavioural and neuroendocrine correlates

In mixed-sex rat groups maintained in visible burrow systems (VBS), consistent asymmetries in offensive and defensive behaviors of male dyads are associated with the development of dominance hierarchies. Subordinate males are characterized by particular wound patterns, severe weight loss, and...

Year Published: 1995Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Blanchard, D. C., Spencer, R., Weiss, S. M. et al. 1995. The visible burrow system as a model of chronic social stress: Behavioural and neuroendocrine correlates. Psychoneuroendocrinology 20, 117-134.

An investigation into the effects of solid or grid cage flooring on the welfare of laboratory rats

Preference testing revealed that rats chose to dwell on solid floors rather than grids, regardless of previous housing experience. This preference for solid floors was particularly marked (88%) when the animals were resting and much less during activity (55.4%). Since...

Year Published: 1995Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Manser, C. E., Morris, T. H., Broom, D. M. 1995. An investigation into the effects of solid or grid cage flooring on the welfare of laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 29, 353-363.

The experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (Vol. II) – Care, Husbandry, and Well-Being: Guinea Pigs

Basic recommendations for the housing of guinea pigs. Wire-bottomed cages may cause foot problems. Bublefoot usually occurs in heavier adults in wire-bottomed cages in which hygiene is not optimal.

Year Published: 1995Animal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: Kesel, M. L. 1995. Guinea pigs. In: The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (Vol. II) - Care, Husbandry, and Well-Being . Rollin, B. E. , Kesel, M. L. (eds), 335-350. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Effects of gnawing material, group size and cage level in rack on Wistar rats

Han:Wist rats were housed after weaning in groups of one, two, three or four in stainless steel cages with aspen chip bedding, with or without wooden gnawing blocks. The use of the blocks was assessed by Video recording and by...

Year Published: 1995Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kaliste-Korhonen, E., Eskola, S., Rekilä, T. et al. 1995. Effects of gnawing material, group size and cage level in rack on Wistar rats. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 22(4), 291-299.

Gentled and nonhandled Wistar rats in a mildly novel open-field situation

Open-field behaviour of individually gentled and nonhandled adult male Wistar rats was studied in a mildly novel test situation. The gentled rats were more active and showed fewer signs of fear on the first trial. This difference gradually descended on...

Year Published: 1995Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hirsjärvi, P. A., Väliaho, T. 1995. Gentled and nonhandled Wistar rats in a mildly novel open-field situation. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 22(3), 265-269.