Rodent

Comfortable quarters for guinea-pigs in research institutions

Practical guidelines for the species-adequate housing of guinea pigs in research facilities. Animals living in groups should be provided a floor area of no less than 1200 cm2 per breeding female, and no less then 750 cm2 per weaned, non-breeding...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: Reinhardt, V. 2002. Comfortable quarters for guinea-pigs in research institutions. In: Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals, Ninth Edition. Reinhardt, V. , Reinhardt, A. (eds.), 39-43. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Rats’ preferences for corn versus wood-based bedding and nesting materials

Corn by-products can be used as bedding and nesting products. Corn-cob bedding resists ammonia build-up and corn-husk nesting material resists dampness. It is not clear whether these advantages are at the expense of animal comfort. Corn cob was compared to...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Ras, T., Van de Ven, M., Patterson-Kane, E. G. et al. 2002. Rats' preferences for corn versus wood-based bedding and nesting materials . Laboratory Animals 36, 420-425.

Progression of environmental enrichment at Sequani Limited

Several enrichment options for beagles, rabbits and guinea pigs are described.

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Prowse, L. 2002. Progression of environmental enrichment at Sequani Limited. Animal Technology and Welfare 1, 119-121.

Variation in visual acuity within pigmented, and between pigmented and albino rat strains

we measured psychophysically the vertical grating acuity of three pigmented (Dark Agouti, Fisher-Norway, Long-Evans) and three albino (Fisher-344, Sprague-Dawley, Wistar) strains of laboratory rats, and compared their acuity with that of wild rats. The grating thresholds of Dark Agouti, Long-Evans...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Prusky, G. T., Harker, K. T., Douglas, R. M. et al. 2002. Variation in visual acuity within pigmented, and between pigmented and albino rat strains. Behavioral Brain Research 136, 339-348.

Rats demand social contact

Most of the rats in this experiment showed a persistent demand for social contact but not for physical cage improvements. These data suggest that social enrichment should be given the highest priority as a source of environmental enrichment for laboratory...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. G., Hunt, M., Harper, D. 2002. Rats demand social contact. Animal Welfare 11, 327-332.

Environmental enrichment for rats

My personal research has shown that as colony-dwelling animals, rats require contact with their own kind; as small burrowing animals they want a secure nest-box more than a novel object to investigate; as a prey species they prefer cages that...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. 2002. Environmental enrichment for rats. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 51(2), 9.

Cage size preference in rats in the laboratory

Ten rats of one strain and age showed they had a preference [p

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. G. 2002. Cage size preference in rats in the laboratory. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 5, 63-72.

Evidence for a relationship between cage stereotypies and behavioural disinhibition in laboratory rodents

Cage stereotypies (abnormal, repetitive, unvarying and apparently functionless behaviours) are common in many captive animals, sometimes resulting in self-injury or decreased reproductive success. However, a general mechanistic or neurophysiological understanding of cage stereotypies has proved elusive. In contrast, stereotypies in...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rodent

Citation: Garner, J. P., Mason, G. J. 2002. Evidence for a relationship between cage stereotypies and behavioural disinhibition in laboratory rodents. Behavioural Brain Research 136, 83-92.

Why every scientist should care about animal welfare: Abnormal repetitive behavior and brain function in captive animals

Barren laboratory housing also induces abnormal behaviors in many species, particularly stereotypies, fur and feather plucking, and self-mutilation. Similar behaviors in human mental disorder are correlated with dysfunction in brain areas that control the selection and sequencing of behavior. Experiments...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Abnormal/Problematic BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Garner, J. P. 2002. Why every scientist should care about animal welfare: Abnormal repetitive behavior and brain function in captive animals. Proceedings of the World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences, 95 (Abstract).

Guinea pig enrichment

Some feeding and inanimate enrichment options are listed.

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: White, E., Hartner, M. 2002. Guinea pig enrichment. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 7(1), 7.