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Conventional Mice and Rats |
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Cage Cleaning |
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| Cage bottoms, water bottles and sipper tubes and cleaned weekly, wire lids are cleaned monthly. Please leave dirty cages in the animal room. Clean cages and supplies can be obtained from the clean cage storage areas. | |||
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Cages, Bottles and Lids |
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| Mice and rats are housed in same sex groups unless otherwise specified. Standard cages for mice and rats are made of clear polymer with wire lids that hold the water bottle and feed. The cages differ in height. It is important not to put mice, especially weanlings into rat cages. The mice may not be able to reach the water and can become dehydrated or even die. |
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| The lids differ in how close together the wires on the lid are placed. Also the rat lid, the one on the right has clips that hold it in place on the cage. If young mice are held in a cage with a rat lid occasionally they will escape. If rats are held in a cage with a mouse lid it is more difficult for them to obtain the food through the wires. Also, if the water bottle gets low they may be able to lift up the lid and escape. |
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| The tubes in the water bottle lids come in different lengths, shapes and opening size. For weanlings the longer tubes allow the animals to access the water more easily. |
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Mouse Cages |
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| Mouse cages come in two sizes that are called 'shoebox' and 'colony.' Four mice may be held in the shoebox and ten in the colony. The cage on the right is the 'shoebox' cage. The 'colony' cage is shown above. |
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Rat Cages |
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| Rat cages also come in two sizes. The smallest is the same floor size as the mouse colony cage shown above. There are a limited number of larger cages that allow group housing of larger rats. They are of the same basic design. | |||
| Most rat caging is held on shelving. On the right is a different set up where the cages are suspended beneath a mesh instead of the usual wire lids. Otherwise the cages are the same. Some investigators prefer this type of caging however availability is limited. |
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| There is limited metabolic caging for rats. Animals are placed in these cages from their home cage to allow for procedures such as urine collection. Once the procedure is complete the animal is returned to its home cage. Justification must be included in the animal use application. |
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| Other caging options should be discussed with the manager. | |||
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Bedding and Feed |
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Standard bedding for conventionally housed rats and mice is
Bed-o-cobs, a material made from corn cobs. Alfa-chip
which is a heat treated bedding material made from white pine. is used elsewhere in the
facility and may be available by special arrangement. Since this is
not a standard bedding in the conventional facility extra costs would be charged. For additional information on these products click on the picture. |
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| Standard diet for rats is Pro-Lab RMH 3000. This diet is used and breeding and non-breeding rats. Other diets can be made available by special arrangement. For information on nutrient content click on the picture. |
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| Standard diet for mice is Harlan Teklad 2018 Global 18% Rodent Diet. For more information on nutrient content click on the icon. |
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Last updated on Wednesday, 30 March 2005
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