Top Of Cage Research Articles

An improved technique for monitoring the drinking behavior of mice

A set of calibrated lickometers provides continuous, quantitative monitoring of fluid consumption. It has been used in our laboratory at four levels of temporal resolution: 24 hr, 1 hr, 6 min, and for counting of individual licks. Convenient features are mounting of the licking tube-bottle assembly on the cage top (which permits the use of disposable plastic cages with litter) and automated collection of data with microcomputers.

Interaction-induced reduction in differential maternal responsiveness: an effect of cue-reduction or behavior?

Litters from donor mothers received differential treatments (handling or shocking) and were then placed in wire-mesh baskets affixed to the cage tops of test mothers. Pup-produced cues from donor litters elicited different patterns of maternal behavior from test mothers that interacted with their own litters. In addition to these differences in maternal behavior, cues from the donor litters elicited a differential pattern of pituitary-adrenal activity. Shocked pups elicited larger corticosterone elevations than handled pups. These data suggest that the elimination of differential pituitary-adrenal responsiveness evidenced when mothers interact directly with pups subseuqent to pup treatment resllts from the termination of pup-produced cues that normally accompany active mother-infant interactions.

Investigation of alopecia following sulphur rolling of mice

Watford Road, Harrow, HAl 3UJ The successful use of sulphur has been reported for the control of mange mites on laboratory mice (Green & Needham, 1974). Since the method was described, the colony has been treated several times, with some 150000 mice receiving treatment. A small number of these animals (less than 0·1 %) developed a degree of alopecia following treatment. This condition was first seen about 7 days after sulphur rolling and in most cases led to some 50 % hair loss. It was noticed that alopecia first appeared in a room where an excess of sulphur had been used for treatment, as judged by the presence of the chemical on the floor, cage tops and in the bedding. In view of the possible implications of alopecia on the maintenance of experimental mice it was decided to see whether this condition could be experimentally induced by the application of an excessive amount of sulphur. 18 adult male and 18 adult female CBA/H-T6 mice, issued from the Centre's Barrier Maintained (SPF) Breeding Unit were used. Groups of 6 male and 6 female mice were treated with sulphur, applied by hand and rubbed into the coat of the mice for 3 minutes. Similar groups of 6 mice of each sex received 2 treatments 48 hours apart while the 3rd group remained untreated. All mice were killed for examination by intraperitoneal administration of sodium pentobarbitone 7 days after the initial treatment. A snip of skin was removed from the neck, back and right hind leg, fixed in 10 %formol saline, embedded in paraffin wax and stained with Cole's haematoxylin and eosin. So that unbiased interpretation of the histological results could be made one author undertook the experimental sulphur treatment and coded the skin snips. The other author performed the histological examination unaware of the derivation of each individual specimen. Following reading the results were collated.

Differences in home-cage-emergence in the rat in relation to infantile handling1

Adult rats, which had either been handled daily between birth and weaning or left undisturbed during this period, were tested on speed of emergence from the home cage. On opening the cage, handled animals reared sooner than did nonhandled ones, and females sooner than males; the additional time taken to raise the nose above the cage top showed sex differences only.

A new cage cover as an aid to laboratory rodent disease control.

SummaryThe development of a rodent cage cover that inhibits the spread of disease agents within a restricted area by preventing feces and soiled bedding from getting out of the cage is described. The cover differs from the usual cage top in that the typical large open areas of perforations or coarse wire mesh are replaced by a double crimp, square mesh, stainless steel screen with 40 openings per linear inch. The cover costs no more than the usual cover with large open areas. It gives adequate ventilation and has been used to house breeding mice and mice in experiments. It is equally suitable for rats and other rodents. Its use neither complicates animal management procedures nor reduces useful research space.

An Inexpensive Mouse Cage

Many biological science departments are handicapped in their teaching and research efforts by the high cost of equipment. Animal housing often constitutes a sizeable portion of this expense. Attempts are frequently made to have cages fabricated by local metal-workers, but the results in most instances are still rather expensive and because of faulty design pose problems of feeding, cleaning, and maintenance. The extensive use of the mouse as an experimental animal at this laboratory prompted experimentation with various forms of suitable housing. While mouse cages may be constructed of wood they are difficult to clean and may harbor bedbugs. Glass jars are often desirable as cages but have the disadvantages of inconvenient shape, breakage, and excessive weight. Consequently most commercial cages are of metal. The basic requirements of any animal cage are: durability, ease of cleaning and feeding, unobstructed observation of the animals and animal comfort. In a mouse cage certain additional features are desirable. A deep cage, for example, although somewhat wasteful of space is advantageous with younger mice that jump a great deal. Solid sides to the cage are essential as a protection from drafts. The same logic should hold for the flooring although a number of commercial cages have wire floors. The cage top or door should fasten firmly and if the animal room is not adequately screened the cage should have fly-proof screening. A feeder should be built in or solidly secured in the cage. This feeder must be easy to fill and should not permit scattering or fouling of the food. A water supply is needed that cannot be upset, contaminated by feces or leak on to the bedding. A cage design is presented that is inexpensive and essentially meets all of the aforementioned requirements. This cage is pictured in Figure 1.