Publications

Enriching the lives of zebra finches

Zebra finches are an uncommon animal model in the biomedical industry but are widely used in language development, memory, and learning studies. Native to Australia, they are desert birds that like warm days and 40%+ relative humidity. As a social...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Finch

Citation: Warner-Hough, M. 2024. Enriching the lives of zebra finches. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 28-30.

Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need

The Animal Resources Core (ARC) at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) faces many of the same challenges other institutions manage in terms of enrichment for laboratory animals. A Behavior Assessment Team (BAT) was developed...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Fish, Goat, Mouse, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Zebrafish

Citation: Mantz, M., Pugerud, A. 2024. Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 32-34.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Not much if they’re provided with the right enrichment!

Husbandry & Management,Environmental Enrichment

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Brennan, J. 2024. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Not much if they're provided with the right enrichment! Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 46-48.

A cost-effective restraint method for safer subcutaneous scruff injections and reducing stress in mice and handlers

Subcutaneous injection is a vital technique in mouse-based biomedical research. Compared to other injections, the subcutaneous method poses fewer technical challenges and reduces acute toxicity risks due to slower absorption. Several suitable subcutaneous injection sites exist in mice, including the...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Fitzwater, A., Zhang, L. 2024. A cost-effective restraint method for safer subcutaneous scruff injections and reducing stress in mice and handlers. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 52-53.

How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard

Assessing animal motivation to access a given resource is one method available to evaluate what to provide in the living environments of captive animals. Providing increased opportunities for movement can be seen as an important source of enrichment, but we...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Aigueperse, N., Boyer, V., Vasseur, E. 2023. How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard. Behavioural Processes 213, 104957.

Thirty years of telemetry-based data acquisition for cardiovascular drug safety evaluation: Applications and optimization

Conducting safety evaluations of new drugs using conscious animals has been a specialty of our working group for thirty years. In this article, we review the various technical challenges and solutions dealt with over the years to improve both the...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, External Bodily EquipmentAnimal Type: Dog, Guinea Pig, Macaque, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Pig, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Alizadeh, E. A., Graf, K., Schiwon, J. et al. 2023. Thirty years of telemetry-based data acquisition for cardiovascular drug safety evaluation: Applications and optimization. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 122, 107279.

Comparison of subcutaneous sedation with alfaxalone or alfaxalone-midazolam in pet guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) of three different age groups

OBJECTIVE To compare the cardiorespiratory effects, quality and duration of sedation of 2 subcutaneous sedation protocols for noninvasive procedures in guinea pigs (GPs). ANIMALS 24 pet GPs (15 females, 9 males) of 3 different age groups: infant (n = 8),...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Anesthesia & SedationAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: Álvarez, E. R., Solé, L. V., Mateo, A. G. de C. 2022. Comparison of subcutaneous sedation with alfaxalone or alfaxalone-midazolam in pet guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) of three different age groups. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 260(9), 1024–1030.

Plasma metabolomics supports non-fasted sampling for metabolic profiling across a spectrum of glucose tolerance in the Nile rat model for type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a challenge in modern healthcare, and animal models are necessary to identify underlying mechanisms. The Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) develops diet-induced diabetes rapidly on a conventional rodent chow diet without genetic or chemical manipulation. Unlike common...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Anderson, B. J., Curtis, A. M., Jen, A. et al. 2023. Plasma metabolomics supports non-fasted sampling for metabolic profiling across a spectrum of glucose tolerance in the Nile rat model for type 2 diabetes. Lab Animal 52(11), 269–277.

Meeting ferret enrichment needs in infectious disease laboratory settings

Environmental enrichment is a necessary component of all research vivarium settings. However, appropriate enrichment decisions vary greatly depending on the species involved and the research use of the animals. The increasing use of ferrets in research settings—notably for modeling the...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Ferret

Citation: Anderson-Mondella, C. J., Maines, T. R., Tansey, C. M. et al. 2023. Meeting ferret enrichment needs in infectious disease laboratory settings. JAALAS 62(6), 518–524.

Why all healthy laboratory animals should be rehomed, no matter how small

This paper explores the ethical imperative of rehoming all healthy animals of sentient species after experiments have finished or when they have become otherwise redundant. We take into account disparate perspectives in animal ethics and see how they point in...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Van Loo, P. L. P., Janssens, M. R. E. 2023. Why all healthy laboratory animals should be rehomed, no matter how small. Animals 13(17), 2727.