Techniques for hand‐rearing tree‐shrews (Tupaia belangeri) from birth

Abstract

AbstractIn captivity, Tupaia belangeri (Thailand tree‐shrew) frequently show aberrant patterns of maternal care which result in the death of offspring. In order to maximize the potential of the tree‐shrew as an animal resource for experimental studies we have developed a program for hand‐rearing tupaiidae from birth. Newborn tree‐shrews were removed from mothers with a history of poor parental care to a nursery maintained under conditions of controlled relative humidity (70 ± 10%) and temperature (25 ± 1°C) on a 12 h dark: 12 h light cycle. The young tree‐shrews were fed on a liquid formula until the eyes opened (Day 18–23) and for the subsequent 10 days on a transitional diet until they could feed themselves on solid food. Our hand‐rearing protocol appears to conform to the natural weaning pattern of tupaiids. Food consumption during the liquid diet phase was linearly related to age and the increase in body weight in both sexes. The initial growth rate of male and female hand‐reared tree‐shrews was slower than that of maternally reared animals during the liquid diet phase. The growth rate accelerated subsequently and the body weight of hand‐reared tree‐shrews eventually reached that of maternally reared animals of the same sex. Various developmental changes occurred during the same period in artificially and naturally reared animals. In both hand‐reared and maternally reared groups, the growth rate of male tree‐shrews exceeded that of females from about Day 40 onward. The accelerated growth rate of male tree‐shrews was in apparent association with an increase in androgen secretion at the onset of puberty. The high fecundity of tree‐shrews in captivity reinforced with a program for hand‐rearing the young make T belangeri a potential alternative to more conventional laboratory species in specific areas of biomedical research.