Rodents
Spotlights
A Wiki Ethogram for the Laboratory MouseA collaborative project documenting the behavioral repertoire of the laboratory mouse, including a video library and protocols for recording and scoring mouse behavior in the homecage.
Rodents, 2006
USDA. NAL. Animal Welfare Information Center.
This information resource was developed to help researchers provide better conditions for their animals and their research, and to assist in complying with the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act.
Guidelines for the Housing of Rats in Scientific Institutions (PDF | 571 KB)NSW Department of Primary Industries. Animal Research Review Panel.
Provides guidance on best practice standards for housing rats based on published scientific information and practices employed in New South Wales, Australia.
Rodent Fact SheetsAustralian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching Ltd.
These fact sheets discuss the nutrition, housing, husbandry, and veterinary care of various rodent species in laboratory environments.
Modifications to Husbandry and Housing Conditions of Laboratory Rodents for Improved Well-beingInstitute for Laboratory Animal Research.
This paper focuses on housing and husbandry alterations that may improve the welfare of laboratory rodents. Discusses possible inexpensive and effective enrichment schemes for laboratory mice including reducing the cage floor space per mouse combined with providing nesting material.
Mouse Genome InformaticsThe Jackson Laboratory.
Provides integrated access to information on the genetics and biology of the laboratory mouse.
The Laboratory Rat: A Natural HistoryOxford University.
Information and footage from a short film that follows the lives of domestic rats after being released in a large outdoor enclosure where they have to compete, like their wild cousins, for food, shelter and mates.
Environmental Enrichment for Laboratory Mice: Preferences and ConsequencesUniversiteit Utrecht.
This thesis indicates that the degree of complexity of environmental enrichment affects the behavior and physiology of mice. Individual chapters are viewed as PDF documents.
Guidelines for the Housing of Guinea Pigs in Scientific Institutions (PDF | 360 KB)
NSW Department of Primary Industries. Animal Research Review Panel.
Guidelines on housing guinea pigs in ways which meet their behavioral and biological needs.
Assessing the Welfare of Genetically Altered (GA) Mice, Full Report of GA Mouse Welfare Assessment Working Group, April 2006UK Animal Procedures Committee.
Recommendations for a standard welfare assessment scheme for genetically altered (GA) mice and the establishment of a 'passport' system for GA mice transferred between establishments nationally and internationally.
Blood Sampling Techniques Literature ReviewThis search conducted on the SCIRUS database gives an overview of blood sampling techniques and methods for rodent species.
European Mouse Phenotyping Resource of Standardized ScreensEUMORPHIA
EMPReSS is a database of SOPs, developed by the EUMORPHIA consortium, that can be used to describe the phenotype of a mouse.
Pain and Distress in Laboratory Rodents and Lagomorphs (PDF | 139 KB)Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations.
The FELASA Working Group considered the nature of pain and distress in laboratory rodents and lagomorphs because they constitute the vast majority of subjects used in experimentation. The information is arranged in sections, although these are not always mutually exclusive
Variables, Refinement and Environmental Enrichment for Rodents and Rabbits kept in Research Institutions (PDF | 789 KB)Animal Welfare Institute.
This online book discusses refinement and environmental improvement techniques for rodents and rabbits kept in research facilities.
IACUC Web-based Courses - RodentsUniversity of Arizona.
Web-based introduction to proper technique of working with laboratory rodents.
Guidelines for the Housing of Mice in Scientific InstitutionsNSW Department of Primary Industries Animal Welfare Branch. Animal Research Review Panel.
These guidelines on the housing of mice in scientific institutions are based on evidence from the scientific literature.
The Anatomy of the Laboratory MouseThe Jackson Laboratory. Mouse Genome Informatics.
The text and graphics from a book originally published in 1965 on the anatomy of the mouse.
Environmental Enrichment for RatsAnimal Welfare Institute.
An article about providing enrichment for rats and published in the Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly, Spring 2002 issue.
Allen Mouse Brain AtlasAllen Institute for Brain Science.
The Allen Mouse Brain Atlas is an interactive, genome-wide image database of gene expression. Find ISH and Nissl images.
Novel Non-invasive Physiological and Behavioural Indicators of Stress in Laboratory Rats (Rattus norvegicus) (PDF | 84 KB)University of Sydney. Veterinary Information Portal.
This essay provides a discussion of stress in laboratory rats. It reviews methods of measuring stress, especially new behavioral and physiological parameters that have potential welfare implications for laboratory housed rats.