Behavioral and cardiovascular responses of male Sprague-Dawley rats to common husbandry and experimental procedures: Effect of housing density (2001)

Zammit, T. G., Duke, J. L., Lawson, D. M.

Abstract

Responses of rats housed alone or with another rat were assessed using radio-telemetry. We conclude that some common husbandry and experimental procedures [moving rats to a clean cage, s.c. injection, tail vein injection, exposure to urine and feces from stressed rats, exposure to dried rat blood, witnessing decapitation] can induce stress-like changes in behavior and cardiovascular function and that animals respond to these procedures more when housed alone than when housed with another rat. However, behavior or cardiovascular functions of rats witnessing procedures is not appreciably changed, even when the procedure is as invasive one such as decapitation.