Increasing welfare of laboratory rats with the help of spatially enhanced cages (1994)

Anzaldo, A. J., Harrison, P. C., Riskowski, G. L. et al.

Abstract

Rats tend to 'shy away' from the center of barren cages. Instead they prefer to spend most their time in contact with surrounding walls of the cage, seldom using the floor space available in the center. A cage equipped with a set of L-shaped partitions for tactile retreat and additional wall contact was designed to address this behavioral characteristic. The animals preferred such a cage over a much bigger cage which allowed them to move in three dimensions [platforms], thereby better using the volume of the cage. The rats chose security over extra floor space.