Anaesthesia and analgesia are used frequently in laboratory routine to ensure animal welfare and good scientific outcomes in experiments that may elicit pain or require immobilisation of the animal. However, there is concern regarding the...
The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...
Huddling and nest building are two methods of behavioral thermoregulation used by mice under cold stress. In the laboratory, mice are typically housed at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 20°C, well below the lower end...
The beneficial effects of environment and social support during disease recovery in humans are widely accepted. Because laboratory mice are social animals and are highly motivated to interact with each other and with their environment...
Stereotypic behaviours (SBs) are linked with behavioural inflexibility and resemble symptoms of autism, suggesting that stereotypic animals could have autistic-like social impairments. SBs are also common in caged mice. We therefore hypothesised relationships between stereotypic...
The choice of laboratory cage bedding material is often based on both practical and husbandry issues, whereas behavioral outcomes rarely appear to be considered. It has been noted that a breeding success difference appears to...
Laboratory mice are commonly killed via exposure to gradually increasing concentrations of isoflurane and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Once rendered insensible using isoflurane or CO2, a high concentration of CO2 is used to decrease time...
Behavioural changes that occur as animals become sick have been characterized in a number of species and include the less frequent occurrence of ‘luxury behaviours’ such as playing, grooming and socialization. ‘Sickness behaviours’ or behavioural...
Social housing is recommended where possible for laboratory mice. In order to achieve this, mice must be individually identifiable. Although, various methods are available, permanent identification is often required, such as ear notching. This method...
We hypothesized that short-term exposure of mice to vibration within a frequency range thought to be near the resonant frequency range of mouse tissue and at an acceleration of 0 to 1 m/s2 would alter...