Environmental Enrichment

Kidding around in the laboratory animal facility – Goat enrichment

Goat enrichment can be incredibly rewarding, not only for the goat, but for personnel as well. In our facility, we often refer to goatenrichment tasks as technician (or vet!) enrichment. Somewhere in the evolutionary development of Capra hircus, curiosity and...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Goat

Citation: Savage, S. 2013. Kidding around in the laboratory animal facility - Goat enrichment. Enrichment Record 14, 14-15.

Targeted approaches for enrichment: Nutrition offers many benefits for laboratory animals

The field of laboratory animal enrichment is continually evolving. New enrichment products, methodologies, and protocols are being developed, revised and updated daily, and for good reason: enrichment is a critical component to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Palmer, J. 2013. Targeted approaches for enrichment: Nutrition offers many benefits for laboratory animals. Enrichment Record 17, 10-11.

Provision of environmental enrichment: Scientifically proven or use of common sense?

In an ideal world, of course, it would be nice to have the time and resources to prove everything scientifically and in many cases this is also the right approach. However, sometimes the use of common sense might be a...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Ottesen, J. L. 2013. Provision of environmental enrichment: Scientifically proven or use of common sense? Enrichment Record 16, 5-8.

Environmental enrichment for Xenopus Laevis

Environmental enrichment has become an important aspect of animal care in research facilities over the years. It is easy to come up with enrichment for mice, rats, and other mammals; however, what do you get for enrichment for aquatics such...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Amphibian, Frog & Toad

Citation: Miller, S. 2013. Environmental enrichment for Xenopus Laevis. Enrichment Record 14, 12-13.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed)

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, Fourth Edition offers a user-friendly guide to the unique anatomy and physiology, care, common diseases, and treatment of small mammals and nonhuman primates. Carefully designed for ease of use, the book includes tip boxes,...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Regulations & Ethical Review, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Chinchilla, Ferret, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Hrapkiewicz, K., Colby, L. A., Denison, P. 2013. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

Ice cube treats for swine

The frozen Veggie Bite ice cube treat is hung inside the swine chain-link type enclosure with a Carabineer hook. ... Because swine avoid objects that are contaminated with feces, suspending this enrichment treat encourages more interaction, while incorporating food, making...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Hoffman, H. 2013. Ice cube treats for swine. Enrichment Record 16, 23-24.

Enrichment of Göttingen Minipigs: Models of human hepatocellular carcinoma

Social or pair-housing is our main form of swine enrichment. The minipigs are group-housed in stalls that have sliding divider doors/panel which allow separation of animals for feeding and study procedures, as needed. Ideally, enrichment is designed to draw out...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Gehlot, P. 2013. Enrichment of Göttingen Minipigs: Models of human hepatocellular carcinoma. Newsletter Ellegaard 40, 4-5.

The naked truth: Breeding performance in nude mice with and without nesting material

In laboratories, mice are housed at ambient temperatures between 20 and 24 C, which is below their lower critical temperature of 30 C, but comfortable for human workers. Thus, mice are under chronic thermal stress, which can compromise many aspects...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Winnicker, C., Garner, J. P. et al. 2013. The naked truth: Breeding performance in nude mice with and without nesting material. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 110-116.

Getting on the same page: Using a checklist to communicate environmental enrichment

Multiple species, study protocols and user needs make it difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all approach to standardizing enrichment. Fortunately, it turns out that there is a very simple solution to the complex issue of getting everyone on the same page—literally!...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Dragon, M. 2013. Getting on the same page: Using a checklist to communicate environmental enrichment. Enrichment Record 15, 5-6.

Individually ventilated cages impose cold stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) are increasing in popularity. Although mice avoid IVC in preference testing, they show no aversion when provided additional nesting material or the cage is not ventilated. Given the high ventilation rate in IVC, we developed 3...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: David, J. M., Knowles, S., Lamkin, D. M. et al. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. JAALAS 52(6), 738-744.