Rodent

Practical environmental enrichment for rats and mice (The results of a survey)

The overall aim of this report is .. to share best practice and offer some suggestions as to what can be done to improve the quality of life for the animals in our care.

Year Published: 2001Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mortell, N. 2001. Practical environmental enrichment for rats and mice (The results of a survey). Animal Technology 52, 1-19.

The rat floor pen: Fact or fantasy? Animal Technology 52, 33-34

Rats in [enriched] floor pens have better body condition and appear cleaner [than animals housed in cages]. They are also much more inquisitive and friendly than caged rats and come out when the technicians do their morning checks, because they...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Morrison, P. 2001. The rat floor pen: Fact or fantasy? Animal Technology 52, 33-34.

Estimates of appropriate number of rats: interaction with housing environment

The effect of enrichment [gnawing stick] on data variability is examined. The results indicate that some of the physiological parameters are susceptible to variability attributable to environmental modifactions in general whereas some are not.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mering, S., Kaliste-Korhonen, E., Nevalainen, T. 2001. Estimates of appropriate number of rats: interaction with housing environment. Laboratory Animals 35, 80-90.

Floor space needs for laboratory mice: BALB/cJ males or females in solid-bottom cages with bedding

Studies were initiated to determine the effects of restricted (32.2 cm2 per mouse), normal (96.8 cm2), or excess floor space (129.0 cm2) allowances by using a model of three mice per cage. BALB/cJ mice were bred on-site and weaned at...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: McGlone, J. J., Anderson, D. L., Norman, R. L. 2001. Floor space needs for laboratory mice: BALB/cJ males or females in solid-bottom cages with bedding. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(3), 21-25.

Escape behaviour in laboratory mice

Results suggest that mice chew at cage bars as an escape response rather than a functionless stereotypy or tooth growth control.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Lewis, R. 2001. Escape behaviour in laboratory mice. Animal Technology 52, 38-39.

Gerbil tube comparison

Gerbils destructed PC [polycarbonate] tubes much more intensively than PCV [polyvinylchloride] tubes.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Gerbil, Rodent

Citation: Lee, L., Hughes, R. 2001. Gerbil tube comparison. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 6(4), 3.

The use of radiotelemetry in small laboratory animals: Recent advances

Radiotelemetry provides an alternative means of obtaining physiological measurements from awake and freely moving laboratory animals, without introducing stress artifacts. For researchers, especially those in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, the technique may provide a valuable tool for predicting...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kramer, K., Kinter, L., Brockway, B. et al. 2001. The use of radiotelemetry in small laboratory animals: Recent advances. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(1), 8-16.

Training could prevent deaths due to rodent gavage procedure

We were surprised and shocked to note that 5 of 9 (56%) of the rats gavaged without anesthesia/sedation died within 10 days. The animals experienced gavage-related weight loss probably due to gavage-related injury leading to decreased food consumption. [in reference...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Rao, G. N., Peace, T. A., Hoskins, D. E. 2001. Training could prevent deaths due to rodent gavage procedure. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(4), 7-8.

Does conditioning influence the increase of heart rate and body temperature as provoked by handling in the mouse? Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(4), 92 (Abstract)

Handling of mice or cleaning their cages results in an acute increase in heart rate (HR) and body temperature (BT). ... From the results it can be concluded that entering the animals' room even without performing handling procedures, increases HR...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kramer, K., Mulder, A., van de Weerd, H. et al. 2001. Does conditioning influence the increase of heart rate and body temperature as provoked by handling in the mouse? Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(4), 92 (Abstract).

Future principles for the housing and care of laboratory rodents: An insider’s experience

The Expert Group also stressed that although animals need a minimum space in order to be able to perform their basic behaviours, increasing amounts of empty space without proper enrichment may stimulate territorial aggression. ... Solid floors are preferable to...

Year Published: 2001Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Rodent

Citation: Peters, A. 2001. Future principles for the housing and care of laboratory rodents: An insider's experience. Animal Technology 52, 37-38.