Battilocchi, M., Fulcher, G., Windsor, Z. et al. 2016. Innovative enrichment for the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 136-137.

As part of the enrichment programme at King’s College London (KCL) and in keeping with the guidelines of Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 (ASPA) and the 3R’s (Russell and Burch), technologists have taken an active role in designing innovative and beneficial items to encourage the expression of natural behaviours and maximise the usable cage space. Making use of readily available items found within our facility, staff designed and constructed a simple, cost- effective, durable and safe plastic hammock which was piloted with both naive and Parkinsonian affected marmosets over a 6 month period. Following preliminary observations we identified that the hammocks had a positive effect on the general well-being of the marmosets, showing higher activity levels and cage usage on a daily basis. This design has now been implemented as a standardised enrichment throughout our marmoset colony. The plastic hammock is easily produced by drilling holes into both sides of the wooden poles and into the bottom of the box, then using cable ties to hold the wooden poles in place. Carabiners can then be used to attach the hammock to the top of the cage. Four holes drilled into the base of the hammock also act as a drain during the cage cleaning process. Additionally, compared to the standard enrichment previously in use, we found that when the marmosets are provided with additional useable cage space, it allowed for an increase in visibility for technologists during routine health checks.