Feed wastage in laboratory mice, also known as chewing or grinding behavior, is problematic for program management and animal welfare. The destruction of pelleted feed without consumption produces a powder accumulation on the cage floor...
The addition of supplemental diets to laboratory animals, specifically rodents, is a common practice for the provision of additional nutritional support. We set out to investigate whether the use of commercially available supplemental diets during...
Zoos are often limited by exhibit design in the opportunities they can provide animals to express natural behaviors; however, the opportunity to perform certain natural behaviors is key to supporting good animal welfare. Traditionally, in...
Type of feed is an important consideration in herbivore colony management, yet limited studies report on the effects of diet on common conditions such as urolithiasis in guinea pigs. Urolithiasis is a well-documented cause of...
Guinea pigs have been integral as models used in biomedical research, making significant contributions to nutritional, auditory, immunologic, and hypersensitivity studies, and necessitating the routine need for sedation in laboratory settings. The ketamine-xylazine (KX) combination...
Drug administration in preclinical rodent models is essential for research and the development of novel therapies. Compassionate administration methods have been developed, but these are mostly incompatible with water-insoluble drugs such as tamoxifen or do...
Some mice demonstrate excessive food-grinding behaviors in which food pellets are broken down into crumbs (orts). This is considered abnormal behavior and is undesirable in a research environment, as it is thought to potentially be...
Mice often undergo painful procedures and surgeries as part of biomedical research protocols. Buprenorphine, a partial μ-opioid receptor agonist and κ receptor antagonist, is commonly used to alleviate the pain associated with such procedures. Due...
Blood collection is frequently used for neonatal and juvenile mice in toxicology, developmental, and immunology studies and is often a terminal procedure. However, the use of nonterminal blood collection techniques, including the submandibular and the...
The intranasal route enables direct delivery of multiple substances from the nose to the brain, through olfactory and trigeminal pathways, bypassing the blood–brain barrier and avoiding systemic absorption. Despite the potential of this route, the...