Chapter 3 - Terrestrial Management Flashcards
What does animal activity encompass? How SHOULD they be considered?
Motor, cognitive, and social activity. Animals’ natural behavior and activity profile SHOULD be considered during evaluation of suitable housing or behavioral assessment.
Describe forced actitivy.
SHOULD be avoided for reasons other than attempts to meet therapeutic or approved protocol objectives.
High levels of repetitive, unvarying behavior may represent what?
Disruption of normal behavioral control mechanisms due to housing conditions or management practices.
Which species benefit from positive human interaction?
Dogs, cats, rabbits, and other species.
Dogs can be given what additional opportunities for activity? What additional spaces for large farm animals?
Walked on a leash, having access to a run, or being moved into areas for social contact, play, or exploration. Loafing areas, exercise lots, and pastures.
What is essential to normal development and well-being?
Appropriate social interactions among members of the same species.
What SHOULD be considered when selecting a suitable social environment? An understanding of what is key to successful social housing?
Whether animals are naturally territorial or communal and whether they SHOULD be housed singly, in pairs, or in groups. Understanding of species-typical natural social behavior key.
How to reduce the risk of social incompatibility?
Animals raised together from a young age, group composition remains stable, and design of enclosure and environmental enrichment facilitates the avoidance of social conflicts.
Social stability SHOULD be carefully monitored. When may incompatible individuals need to be separated?
In cases of severe or prolonged aggression.
For some species, developing a stable social hierarchy will entail antagonistic interactions, particularly for animals introduced at what age? What SHOULD occur during and thereafter this introductory period?
Adults. Animals should be monitored closely during this introductory period and thereafter to ensure compatibility.
Describe single housing of social species. What SHOULD occur in these situations, and what SHOULD be provided?
SHOULD be the exception and justified based on experimental requirements or veterinary-related concerns about animal well-being. Should be limited to minimum period necessary and visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile contact with compatible conspecifics should be provided.
In the absence of other animals, what SHOULD be provided?
Enrichment such as positive interaction with the animal care staff and additional enrichment items or addition of a companion animal in the room or housing area.
How often SHOULD the need for single housing be reviewed? By who?
On a regular basis by the IACUC and vet.
What SHOULD be encouraged to assist animals to better cope with a captive environment by reducing stress associated with novel procedures or people? In most cases, what type of training is employed?
Habituating animals to routine husbandry or experimental procedures. Operant conditioning.
What type of diet SHOULD animals be fed? How often?
Palatable, uncontaminated diets that meet their nutritional and behavioral needs at least daily, or according to their particular requirements, unless their protocol states otherwise.
Define natural-ingredient diets
Formulated with agricultural products and byproducts and commercially available for all species commonly used in the laboratory. Nutrient composition of ingredients varies, and may contain low levels of naturally occurring or artificial contaminants (pesticide residues, heavy metals, toxins, carcinogens, and phytoestrogens).
Define certified diets
Have been assayed for contaminants and are commercially available for select studies, such as preclinical toxicology conducted in compliance with FDA FLP standards.
Define purified diets
Refined such that each ingredient contains a single nutrient or nutrient class. Less nutrient concentration variability and the potential for chemical contamination is lower.
Define chemically defined diets.
Contain the most elemental ingredients available, such as individual amino acids and specific sugars.
What are disadvantages of purified and chemically defined diets?
Cost, lower palatability, and reduced shelf life.
Animal colony managers SHOULD be judicious when doing what with food? In order to minimize what?
When purchasing, transporting, storing, and handling food to minimize the introduction of disease, parasites, potential disease vectors, and chemical contaminants.
What SHOULD investigators urge feed vendors to provide? How often?
Periodically provide data from laboratory-based feed analyses for critical nutrients.
What SHOULD users know about the feed? Why is stale food or food transported and store inappropriately problematic?
Date of manufacture and other factors that affect the food’s shelf life. Can become deficient in nutrients.
What SHOULD occur on receipt of food? What SHOULD careful attention be paid to?
Bags of feed examined to ensure they are intact and unstained to ensure that their contents have not been exposed to vermin, penetrated by liquids, or contaminated. Careful attention to quantities received and stock should be rotated so oldest food is used first.
How SHOULD diets be stored?
Areas where diets are processed or stored should be kept clean and enclosed to prevent entry of pests. Food should be stored off the floor in a manner that facilitates sanitation. Opened bags should be stored in vermin-proof containers to minimize contamination and spread of pathogens.
What factors hasten food deterioration? (4)
Elevated storage room temperatures, extremes in relative humidity, unsanitary conditions, and insects/other vermin
What temperature and humidity should natural-ingredient diets be stored at?
Less than 21C (70 F) and 50% relative humidity.
Most natural-ingredient, dry lab animal diets stored properly can be used for up to how long? Nonstablized vitamin C in manufactured feeds typically has a shelf life of how long? Generally, how long should food be stored?
6 months after manufacture. Only 3 months. Food storage time should be reduced to the lowest practical period.
How does storage of purified and chemically-defined diets differ?
Often less stable than natural-ingredient diets. Shelf life usually less than 6 months. Stored at 4C (39F) or lower
Irradiated and fortified autoclavable diets and commonly used for what animals?
Axenic, microbiologically defined, and immunodeficient animals.
How can autoclaving impact pelleted feed? Generally, how should irradiated and autoclaved diets be treated?
Affect hardness and thus palatability. Can also lead to chemical alterations of ingredients. Date of sterilization should be recorded and the diet used quickly.
How SHOULD feeders be designed and placed? What is unique when group housing?
Allow easy access to food and minimize contamination with urine and feces. Should be enough space and feeding points to minimize competition for food and ensure access to food for all animals.
How SHOULD food storage containers be handled?
Should not be transferred between areas that pose different risks of contamination without appropriate treatment. Should be cleaned and sanitized regularly.
Under standard housing conditions, changes in biologic needs commensurate with what SHOULD be taken into consideration?
Aging
What type of diet SHOULD be provided? What SHOULD be avoided when it comes to provision of a diet? Why? In what species especially?
Nutritionally complete. Abrupt changes should be minimized as they lead to digestive and metabolic disturbances. Herbivores especially sensitive.
What water SHOULD animals have access to?
Potable, uncontaminated drinking water.
What monitoring may be necessary for water quality?
pH, hardness, and microbial or chemical contamination.
Why SHOULD the selection of water treatments be carefully considered?
Potential to cause physiologic alterations, reduction in water consumption, change in microflora, or effects of experimental results.
