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Refinement of gerbil housing and husbandry in the laboratory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

E Waiblinger  and
B König
E Waiblinger*
Affiliation:
Animal Behaviour, Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
B König
Affiliation:
Animal Behaviour, Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: Eva.Waiblinger@access.unizh.ch or eva.waiblinger@tierschutz.com
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Abstract

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Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are a widely used model species in parasitology and epilepsy research. Under standard laboratory housing conditions gerbils develop stereotypic digging, a behavioural abnormality, which is caused by the lack of a burrow in the laboratory cage. Here we show that gerbils reared with access to an opaque artificial burrow (nest-box with access tube) develop significantly less stereotypic digging than those reared with transparent artificial burrows. Subadult gerbils also preferred opaque artificial burrows to transparent ones. Based on these findings we developed an artificial burrow system that could be integrated into laboratory Makrolon Type IV cages to prevent the development of stereotypic digging in gerbils by addressing their behavioural needs. Faecal cortisol levels were measured as a non-invasive method of comparing stress reactions in gerbils given access to the new integrated artificial burrow system or to an equivalent transparent burrow. Behavioural differences were observed between gerbils in the two housing conditions, but faecal cortisol levels were unaffected. We conclude that simple refinement of housing is effective in improving gerbil welfare in the laboratory.

Keywords

animal welfarecortisolgerbilhousingrefinementstereotypies
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 13 , Issue S1: Science in the Service of Animal Welfare: Proceedings of the UFAW International Symposium, Edinburgh, 2-4 April 2003 , February 2004 , pp. S229 - S235
Copyright
© 2004 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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