Dietary Protein Research Group, Centre for Nutrition, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital, Norway.
Lab Anim. 2024 Aug;58(4):365-368. doi: 10.1177/00236772231209198. Epub 2024 Jul 25.
Male Zucker Diabetic Sprague Dawley rats were housed in standard individually ventilated cages with floor area of 1500 cm, and were placed in a 'playcage' (a large open cage) for three visits per week from the age of 16-18 weeks. The playcage was introduced in an attempt to reverse the compulsive behaviour that the rats displayed in the individually ventilated cages, with the purpose to increase their well-being and to provide cognitive as well as physical stimulation. After two weeks of periodic stays in the playcage, the rats' repetitive behaviour in their home cage ceased, and the rats displayed signs of happiness and excitement when they were in the playcage. The observations strongly indicate that periodic stays in a larger playcage can be an alternative environmental enrichment for laboratory rats when housing in a larger home cage is not an option.
雄性 Zucker 糖尿病 Sprague Dawley 大鼠饲养于具有 1500 平方厘米地板面积的标准独立通风笼中，并从 16-18 周龄开始每周在“游乐笼”（一个大型敞开式笼子）中进行三次访问。引入游乐笼是为了逆转大鼠在独立通风笼中表现出的强迫行为，目的是提高它们的幸福感，并提供认知和身体刺激。经过两周的定期游乐笼停留后，大鼠在其家笼中的重复行为停止了，当它们在游乐笼中时，表现出快乐和兴奋的迹象。这些观察结果强烈表明，当不能使用更大的家笼时，周期性地在更大的游乐笼中停留可以成为实验室大鼠的另一种环境丰富方式。
