Rodent

A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel

Mouse shelters can provide mice with security, help them thermoregulate, offer darkness to prevent damage to their eyes and enable climbing and gnawing opportunities. For laboratory mice, there is a vast array of commercially available cage furniture, so choosing which...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Burn, C. C., Popat, R. 2021. A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(3), 203-210.

Maximising efficacy of your health monitoring programme

There are a multitude of health monitoring techniques/ methods available. It can be difficult to know which of these to use and when to use them. This is an attempt to simplify, maximise the efficacy of and ultimately reduce the...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Dickinson, A. 2021. Maximising efficacy of your health monitoring programme. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(3), 255-257.

An examination of nest-building behaviour using five different nesting materials in C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice

The aim of our study was to assess the nest-building behaviour of two mouse (Mus musculus) strains using different nesting materials and examine possible sex- and housing-specific effects. Adult mice of two strains (C57BL/6J; n = 64 and BALB/cAnNCrl; n...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Obermueller, B., Castellani, C., Till, H. et al. 2021. An examination of nest-building behaviour using five different nesting materials in C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice. Animal Welfare 30(4), 467-477.

Diagnostic ability of methods depicting distress of tumor-bearing mice

Subcutaneous tumor models in mice are the most commonly used experimental animal models in cancer research. To improve animal welfare and the quality of scientific studies, the distress of experimental animals needs to be minimized. For this purpose, one must...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Xie, W., Kordt, M., Palme, R. et al. 2021. Diagnostic ability of methods depicting distress of tumor-bearing mice. Animals 11(8), 2155.

All the pups we cannot see: Cannibalism masks perinatal death in laboratory mouse breeding but infanticide is rare

Perinatal mortality is a major issue in laboratory mouse breeding. We compared a counting method using daily checks (DAILY_CHECK) with a method combining daily checks with detailed video analyses to detect cannibalisms (VIDEO_TRACK) for estimating the number of C57BL/6 pups...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Brajon, S., Morello, G. M., Capas-Peneda, S. et al. 2021. All the pups we cannot see: Cannibalism masks perinatal death in laboratory mouse breeding but infanticide is rare. Animals 11(8), 2327.

A novel model of ischemia in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion using a microcatheter and zirconia ball under fluoroscopy

Here, we present a highly selective rat MCAO model by percutaneous caudal arterial puncture using a microcatheter and zirconia ball under fluoroscopic guidance. The model is predictable and reproducible, which is well confined within the territory supplied by the MCA,...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Komatsu, T., Ohta, H., Motegi, H. et al. 2021. A novel model of ischemia in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion using a microcatheter and zirconia ball under fluoroscopy. Scientific Reports 11(1), 12806.

Associations between clinical signs and pathological findings in toxicity testing

Animal testing for toxicity assessment of chemicals and pharmaceuticals must take the 3R principles into consideration. During toxicity testing in vivo, clinical signs are used to monitor animal welfare and to inform about potential toxicity. This study investigated possible associations...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Silva, A. V., Norinder, U., Liiv, E. et al. 2021. Associations between clinical signs and pathological findings in toxicity testing. ALTEX 38(2), 198-214.

Voluntary oral administration of drugs in mice

Oral administration of substances is a common procedure in scientific experiments using laboratory animals and typically is achieved in conscious animals by using the intragastric gavage technique. While highly effective, this method can be technically challenging particularly in small animals...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Zhang, L. 2011. Voluntary oral administration of drugs in mice. Protocol Exchange [version 1, protocol preprint].

Alternative method of oral dosing for rats

Oral administration of drugs to laboratory rodents typically is achieved by using the gavage technique. Although highly effective, this method occasionally can cause esophageal injury as well as restraint-associated distress, particularly with repeated use. The aim of this study was...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Atcha, Z., Rourke, C., Neo, A. H. P. et al. 2010. Alternative method of oral dosing for rats. JAALAS 49(3), 335-343.

A once-per-day, drug-in-food protocol for prolonged administration of antiepileptic drugs in animal models

Purpose: Convenient and effective methods for administering potential antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) chronically should facilitate many experiments in animal models of chronic epilepsy with spontaneous recurrent seizures. This proof-of-principle study aimed to optimize a once-per-day, drug-in-food protocol by testing the effect...

Year Published: 2012Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Ali, A., Dua, Y., Constance, J. E. et al. 2012. A once-per-day, drug-in-food protocol for prolonged administration of antiepileptic drugs in animal models. Epilepsia 53(1), 199-206.