Preference for different types of flooring in two rat strains (1996)

Van de Weerd, H. A., van den Broek, F. A. R., Baumans, V.

Abstract

The rats showed a significant preference for the cages with wood shavings and paper bedding, both consisting of large particles. ... The cages with sawdust and wire mesh floor were relatively avoided. Rats slept in the cages with large-particles bedding, but used the other cages for active behaviour such as eating and defecating; furthermore, many rats preferred different cages [with different substrates] during day and night. It is suggested that different behavioural activities may require different cage floor covering. .... Possibly the widely used concept of housing laboratory rats on one type of cage flooring should be abandoned and replaced by a cage concept with different types of flooring to enable the rats to express a more complete behavioural repertoire.