Kong toys for laboratory primates: Are they really an enrichment or just fomites? Laboratory Animal Science 43, 78-85 (1993)

Bayne, K., Dexter, S. L., Hurst, J. K. et al.

Abstract

The use of simple toys for environmental enrichment of laboratory primates is an economical means of increasing the complexity of the cage environment to a limited degree. The limitations presented by this method of enrichment include the finite ways in which a simple device can elicit normative behaviors and the relatively rapid habituation to the device. It was demonstrated that microbial growth can persist on enrichment devices, such as Kong toys, after they have been sanitized in a commercial cagewasher.