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LABORATORY ANIMAL MEDICINE AND SCIENCE - SERIES II ...

LABORATORY ANIMAL MEDICINE AND SCIENCE - SERIES II ...

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10 <strong>LABORATORY</strong> <strong>ANIMAL</strong> <strong>MEDICINE</strong> <strong>AND</strong> <strong>SCIENCE</strong> - <strong>SERIES</strong> <strong>II</strong>20. Watering21. DietWater should be provided to rats and mice ad libitum,by water bottles equipped with sipper tubes or by theuse of an automatic system with drinking manifolds.Rats consume approximately 10 ml/100 g of bodyweight per day; mice consume approximately 1.5ml/10 g of body weight per day. Water bottles, sippertubes, and stoppers should be washed and sanitizedeach time they are removed for refilling. On automaticwatering systems, animals can contaminate themanifolds with oral microbes while drinking, and theinfectious organisms can be spread throughout thesystem. Water lines must be flushed periodically withwater or appropriate antibacterial agents followed bythorough rinsing to remove chemicals.Hyperchlorination or acidification of the water supplycan also be used to deter the build-up of bacteria inthe lines. These treatments can, however, adverselyaffect immune parameters and act as unwantedexperimental variables.Rats and mice require a low fiber diet (5%) and aretypically fed a commercially pelleted diet referred to as“rodent chow” (in feeder) (3). Rats consumeapproximately 5 g per 100 g of body weight in food perday and mice 12 g per 100 g of body weight per day.The adequacy and availability of food can affect thehealth and well-being of rats and mice and can impactexperimental results if the quality is inappropriate.22. FeedingThree methods for food presentation or delivery areshown in this image:_ in feeders pressed into wire grid tops of shoeboxcages,_ in stainless steel feeders hung inside the cage, or_ in special feeding cups designed for powdered(mash) feed.Rats and mice will dig powdered feed out of cups,making it difficult to assess food consumption. Asshown here, special grids or lids are placed on or inthe cups to minimize wastage and aid record keepingfor research purposes.

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