Husbandry & Management

Management of naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) at Chester Zoo

This species first arrived at Chester Zoo in June 2014 when a colony of 27 animals was imported from Dresden Zoo, Germany. As with any new species our journey with naked mole rats has not always been straightforward. The early...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mole Rat, Rodent

Citation: Watson, P. 2021. Management of naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) at Chester Zoo. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 48(3), 24-26.

Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice

This volume reviews the broad topic of welfare in nonhuman primates under human care. Chapters detail the history of primates in captivity, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of nonhuman primates as entertainment or in research, the different approaches...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Personality, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Robinson, L. M., Weiss, A. (Eds.) 2023. Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 671 p.

Behaviour, furnishing and vertical space use of captive callimico (Callimico goeldii): Implications for welfare

Provision of optimal captive care should be supported by species-specific evidence. Callimico (Callimico goeldii) is a small South American callitrichid primate. This study sought to address gaps in species-specific knowledge and captive management research by examining differences in callimico behaviour...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Bartlett, A., Grinsted, L., Freeman, M. S. 2023. Behaviour, furnishing and vertical space use of captive callimico (Callimico goeldii): Implications for welfare. Animals 13(13), 2147.

The husbandry and management of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber)

Naked mole-rats (NMRs) have unique husbandry requirements that need to be considered when maintaining them in captivity. We have successfully maintained NMRs at the University of Illinois at Chicago for more than 20 years. This article aims to describe the...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Adams, C. R., Park, T. J. 2022. The husbandry and management of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 16-18.

Using restaurant glassware and flatware wash racks for washing water bottles and cage accessories

In the event of an emergency resulting in our automatic watering system being shut off, we identified the need to increase the number of rodent water bottles we have on hand. Once we realized we had a limited number of...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Semus, H. 2022. Using restaurant glassware and flatware wash racks for washing water bottles and cage accessories. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 32-33.

A multicentre study on spontaneous in-cage activity and micro-environmental conditions of IVC housed C57BL/6J mice during consecutive cycles of bi-weekly cage-change

Mice respond to a cage change (CC) with altered activity, disrupted sleep and increased anxiety. A bi-weekly cage change is, therefore, preferred over a shorter CC interval and is currently the prevailing routine for Individually ventilated cages (IVCs). However, the...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Ulfhake, B., Lerat, H., Honetschlager, J. et al. 2022. A multicentre study on spontaneous in-cage activity and micro-environmental conditions of IVC housed C57BL/6J mice during consecutive cycles of bi-weekly cage-change. PLOS ONE 17(5), e0267281.

Vole husbandry at Colorado University Boulder

Since they arrived at CU Boulder, we have learned a lot about the voles from the laboratory, other institutions, and our trial-and-error. We hope this information can be helpful to any considering adding voles to their census.

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Other Rodent, Rodent

Citation: Abazaris, J., Hashway, S. 2022. Vole husbandry at Colorado University Boulder. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 12-15.

Aging cats prefer warm food

The aim of this study was to determine if meal temperature of cat wet food affected the feeding preference of aging (>7 years of age) domestic short-haired cats. We examined a chunks in gravy product served at three nominal temperatures...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Eyre, R., Trehiou, M., Marshall, E. et al. 2022. Aging cats prefer warm food. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 47, 86-92.

3R measures in facilities for the production of genetically modified rodents

Sociocultural changes in the human–animal relationship have led to increasing demands for animal welfare in biomedical research. The 3R concept is the basis for bringing this demand into practice: Replace animal experiments with alternatives where possible, Reduce the number of...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Analgesia, Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & Management, Reproduction, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Zevnik, B., Jerchow, B., Buch, T. 2022. 3R measures in facilities for the production of genetically modified rodents. Lab Animal 51(6), 162-177.

An assessment of ambient noise and other environmental variables in a nonhuman primate housing facility

Acoustic noise and other environmental variables represent potential confounds for animal research. Of relevance to auditory research, sustained high levels of ambient noise may modify hearing sensitivity and decrease well-being among laboratory animals. The present study was conducted to assess...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: McLeod, A. R., Burton, J. A., Mackey, C. A. et al. 2022. An assessment of ambient noise and other environmental variables in a nonhuman primate housing facility. Lab Animal 51(8), 219-226.