Chapter 3 - Terrestrial Housing Flashcards
Animals SHOULD be housed under conditions that provide what?
Sufficient space and supplementary structures and resources required to meet physical, physiologic, and behavioral needs.
Primary enclosures or spaces MAY need to be enriched to avoid which effects?
Abnormal brain development, physiologic dysfunction, and behavioral disorders.
Describe social housing. When may social animals be housed alone? What SHOULD be provided in such a way to prevent monopolization?
Appropriate housing space or enclosure SHOULD account for animals’ social needs. Social animals SHOULD be housed in stable pairs or groups of compatible individuals unless they must be housed alone for experimental reasons or social incompatibility. Food, water, and shelter should be provided to avoid monopolization by dominant animals.
What SHOULD be four features of caging?
- Secure that does not permit animal escape
- Durable, nontoxic material that resists corrosion
- Withstands rigors of cleaning and regular handling
- Not determinantal to health and research use of animals
When does rusting or oxidized equipment need to be repaired or replaced?
When it threatens the health or safety of the animals.
Can less durable materials such as wood be used? What SHOULD be considered?
Yes, in appropriate select situations. May need to be periodically replaced due to damage or sanitation difficulties. Painting or sealing may improve durability
Flooring SHOULD be:
Solid, perforated, or slatted and slip-resistant. Perforated or slatted floor holes/slats should have smooth edges and size and spacing should be appropriate for animal size
What can wire-mesh flooring cause? What also plays a factor? What can be beneficial to add?
Development of foot lesions in rodents and rabbits. Size and weight also impacts. Add solid resting area.
Animals SHOULD be provided what for resting and sleeping? What are advantages of contact bedding? (4)
Bedding substrate and/or structures. Opportunities for species-typical behavior, absorbs urine and feces, facilitates thermoregulation, should be provided to breeding animals
Who SHOULD play a role in appropriate housing strategies for a particular species?
Developed and implemented by animal care management, in consultation with animal user and vet, reviewed by IACUC
What two things SHOULD housing provide?
Animal well-being and be consistent with intended objectives of animal use.
When SHOULD expert advice be sought?
New species or specific requirements associated with the animals or their intended use
What type of assessments SHOULD be made to substantiate the adequacy of the animal’s environment, housing, and management?
Objective
What SHOULD be documented regarding maintaining animals?
Routine procedures for maintaining animals to ensure consistency of management and care
What is the primary aim of environmental enrichment?
Enhance animal well-being by providing animals with sensory and motor stimulation through structures and resources that facilitate the expression of species-typical behaviors and promote psychological well-being through physical exercise, manipulative activities, and cognitive challenges according to species-specific characteristics.
What is a pro and con of enrichment rotation?
Novelty, but changing animals’ environments too frequently may be stressful.
How does enrichment help animals better cope with environmental stressors?
Provides choice and degree of control
What are potential concerns of enrichment devices? (5)
- Disease transmission
- Increased body weight (foraging)
- Allergies and skin rash
- Foreign material in intestine
- Aggression and social stress with object monopolization
Who SHOULD review enrichment programs? How often? Why?
IACUC, researchers, and veterinarians on a regular basis. To ensure they are beneficial to animal well-being and consistent with the goals of animal use.
Why SHOULD personnel responsible for animal care and husbandry receive training in the behavioral biology of the species they work with?
Appropriately monitor the effects of enrichment and identify the development of adverse or abnormal behavior
Why SHOULD enrichment be considered an experimental variable?
Affects animal phenotype and may affect experimental outcome
Did a study in mice support the view that addition of environmental enrichment causes variation to animals’ response to treatment? What does contribute to variation in experimental data?
No. Housing conditions can be enriched without compromising the precision or reproducibility of experimental results. Higher-stress reactivity does increase variation in experimental data, with environmental enrichment reducing anxiety and stress.
What MUST animals maintained in outdoor runs, pens, or other large enclosures have?
MUST have protection from extremes in temperature or other harsh weather conditions and adequate opportunities for retreat for subordinate animals.
Shelters for outdoor-housed animals SHOULD be: (4)
- Large enough to accommodate all animals housed in the enclosure
- Accessible at all times
- Have sufficient ventilation
- Designed to prevent buildup of waste materials and excessive moisture
What SHOULD outside-housing structures be constructed of?
Materials that allow cleaning or replacement in accord with generally accepted husbandry practices.
Outdoor-housing floors can be covered with what type of material? How SHOULD excessive buildup of animal waste and stagnant water be controlled? Other surfaces SHOULD be what?
Dirt, absorbent bedding, sand, gravel, grass, or similar material that can be removed or replaced when needed to ensure appropriate sanitation. Excessive buildup of animal waste or stagnant water should be avoided. Other surfaces SHOULD be able to withstand elements and be easily maintained.
What does successful management of outdoor housing rely on?
- Stable social groups of compatible animals
- Sufficient and species-appropriate feeding and resting places
- Acclimation period in advance of seasonal changes when animals are first introduced to outdoor housing
- Training of animals to cooperate with vet and investigative personnel
- Adequate security via a perimeter fence or other means
What SHOULD be balanced when housing animals in naturalistic environments?
Loss of control over nutrition, health care and surveillance, and pedigree management vs animals living in more natural conditions
When adding, removing, and returning animals to social groups in naturalistic environments, what SHOULD be considered?
Effect on individual animal and group
What SHOULD be ensured for animals living in naturalistic environments?
Adequate supply of food, fresh water, and natural or constructed shelter.
What considerations are there for determining space needs of an animal?
Age and sex, number of animals, duration of accommodation, use of intended animals, any special needs
Do adolescents of adults typically require more space? Group or single-housed? Breeding or maintenance? Enriched or barren?
Adolescents, single-housed, breeding. Enrichment may increase activity and species-specific behavior, requiring more space.
Socially housed animals SHOULD have sufficient space and structural complexity for what?
Escape aggression or hide from other animals
Space allocations SHOULD be assessed, reviewed, and modified as necessary by who? What SHOULD this group consider?
Reviewed by IACUC, who considers performance indices, special needs determined by the characteristics of the animal strain or species, and experimental use.
At a minimum animals MUST have enough space to:
- Express natural postures and postural adjustments without touching the enclosure walls or ceiling
- Be able to turn around
- Have ready access to food and water
- MUST be sufficient space to comfortably rest away from areas soiled by urine and feces
What SHOULD not be considered floor space?
Area taken up by food bowls, water containers, litter boxes, and enrichment devices
For species not specifically indicated, where should advice be sought for space recommendations?
Scientific literature and species-relevant experts.
Cats, dogs, and some rabbits prefer housing enclosures that allow what?
Greater freedom of movement and less restricted vertical space.
Dogs and cats, especially when housed individually or in smaller enclosures, SHOULD be provided what?
Exercise and positive human interaction.
What type of species-specific plans SHOULD be developed? What SHOULD these plans also include?
Housing and management plans. Should also include strategies for environmental enrichment.
How long SHOULD individual housing of animals be for?
Shortest duration possible
If single animals are housed in small enclosures, what SHOULD be considered, especially for animals housed singly for extended periods of time?
Opportunity for periodic release into larger enclosures with additional enrichment items
Species-specific housing and management plans for NHPs SHOULD include strategies for what?
Environmental and psychological enrichment.
Space configuration of the space to allow animals to turn around and move freely is particularly important for what species?
Large swine
How many food troughs and water devices SHOULD be provided?
Sufficient numbers to allow access for all animals.
Single-housed species may require more space than recommended for what reasons?
To enable them to turn around and move freely without touching food or water troughs, have ready access to food and water, and have sufficient space to rest away from areas soiled by urine and feces.
