Rodent

Rat 50 kHz calls reflect graded tickling-induced positive emotion

Positive animal emotion (affect) is a key component of good animal welfare and plays an important role in stress-coping and resilience. Methods for reliably inducing and measuring positive affect are critical, but both have been limited in availability. In rats,...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hinchcliffe, J. K., Mendl, M., Robinson, E. S. J. 2020. Rat 50 kHz calls reflect graded tickling-induced positive emotion. Current Biology 30(18), R1034-R1035.

Burrowing behavior as robust parameter for early humane endpoint determination in murine models for pancreatic cancer (2025)

Due to late-stage diagnoses and limited treatment options, pancreatic cancer is predicted to be the second leading cause of cancer deaths by 2030. Many different murine models were developed over the past decades to test new therapies for this tumor...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Brandstetter, J., Hoffmann, L., Koopmann, I. et al. 2025. Burrowing behavior as robust parameter for early humane endpoint determination in murine models for pancreatic cancer. Animals 15(9), 1241.

A method to improve the housing of breeding rats used to produce pups for tissue (2025)

Rats are considered highly social animals. In the wild, they live in groups and develop complex social structures. Regrouping rats is considered stressful. We therefore wanted to keep animals in monogamous pairs so that they could develop a social bond...

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

Citation: Booth, K., King, J., Stephen, J. et al. 2025. A method to improve the housing of breeding rats used to produce pups for tissue. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(1), 62–65.

The effects of handling on mouse behavior: cupped hands versus familiar or novel huts or tunnels (2025)

Mice are commonly tail-handled, despite evidence that this is aversive. Alternatives include cupping and tunnel handling; both methods are associated with improved welfare outcomes, including reduced anxiety and improved ease of handling, but tail handling may be perceived as more...

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

Citation: Bodnar, M. J., Makowska, I. J., Schuppli, C. A. et al. 2025. The effects of handling on mouse behavior: Cupped hands versus familiar or novel huts or tunnels. PLOS ONE 20(5), e0323785.

Understanding and mitigating male mouse aggression

We formed a global working group to identify the triggers of aggression e.g. behaviours seen prior to fighting occurring and have identified strategies to mitigate these triggers. We have also identified the signs of a harmonious cage, how to identify...

Year Published: 2025Animal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Baker, T., Ostman, S., Edwaldsson, B. et al. 2025. Understanding and mitigating male mouse aggression. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(1), 49–52.

A systematic review of the effects of musical enrichment on captive mammals (2025)

Forty two studies examining physiological, behavioural and cognitive mammalian responses to music were identified, with 38.1% of those studies focusing on primates. The studies identified included 23 mammalian species across six animal orders (Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Primates, Proboscidea and Rodentia)....

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Cat, Chimpanzee, Chinchilla, Dog, Gerbil, Gibbon, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Mole Rat, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Other Rodent, Owl Monkey, Rat, Rodent, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Alkalaj, M. 2025. A systematic review of the effects of musical enrichment on captive mammals. Canopy 25(2).

Pup recruitment in a eusocial mammal—Which factors influence early pup survival in naked mole-rats?

In eusocial insects, offspring survival strongly depends on the quality and quantity of non-breeders. In contrast, the influence of social factors on offspring survival is more variable in cooperatively breeding mammals since maternal traits also play an important role. This...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, ReproductionAnimal Type: Mole Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wetzel, M., Courtiol, A., Hofer, H. et al. 2023. Pup recruitment in a eusocial mammal—Which factors influence early pup survival in naked mole-rats? Animals 13(4), 630.

The stress of being alone: Removal from the colony, but not social subordination, increases fecal cortisol metabolite levels in eusocial naked mole-rats

In many social species, hierarchical status within the group is associated with differences in basal adrenocortical activity. We examined this relationship in naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber), eusocial rodents with arguably the most extreme social hierarchies of all mammals. This species...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mole Rat, Rodent

Citation: Edwards, P. D., Mooney, S. J., Bosson, C. O. et al. 2020. The stress of being alone: Removal from the colony, but not social subordination, increases fecal cortisol metabolite levels in eusocial naked mole-rats. Hormones and Behavior 121, 104720.

Hands-on refinements: Establishing improved husbandry processes for aged C57BL/6 mice

The main aim of this project was to review the husbandry processes in place for the colony of aged C57BL/6 mice at the Babraham Institute, establish a refined husbandry process and improve local guidance. Secondly, by analysing fate and clinical...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Paterson, A. 2024. Hands-on refinements: Establishing improved husbandry processes for aged C57BL/6 mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(2), 129–131.

Shifts in naturalistic behaviors induced by early social isolation stress are associated with adult binge-like eating in female rats

Binge eating (BE) is a highly pervasive maladaptive coping strategy in response to severe early life stress such as emotional and social neglect. BE is described as repeated episodes of uncontrolled eating and is tightly linked with comorbid mental health...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Simon, T. B., Sierra, J., Williams, A. et al. 2024. Shifts in naturalistic behaviors induced by early social isolation stress are associated with adult binge-like eating in female rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 18.