engleski

Impact of Microclimatic Conditions on Laboratory Rodents Welfare

Temperature, relative humidity and air velocity, gaseous and corpuscular air pollution, noise and light intensity as well as cage vibration significantly affect the welfare of laboratory rodents. Any deflection from the established value of microclimate parameters for a particular type of strain, age and state of animal health may be harmful to their welfare, threaten the health and safety of staff and the quality of research. The microclimate conditions in the microenvironment of rodents (cage) and macroenvironment (rooms in which cages are located) often vary, which affects research results interpretation. The value of air temperature, relative humidity, and gaseous and corpuscular air pollution in the microenvironment are often higher than in the macroenvironment. Rodents are sensitive to temperature fluctuations, its extreme values and inadequate relative humidity. Low relative humidity will cause ischemic necrosis of the tail in rats, and new-borns cannibalism in mice. Gaseous air pollution can damages mucosa and influence on immunity. The welfare could be jeopardized by inadequate lighting intensity, wavelength and spectrum and non-compliance with the daily rhythm of illumination. For example, rodents, particularly albino offspring, need lower light intensity. The noise which exceeds 85 dB causes eosinopenia, increased adrenal glands and reduced fertility. They are especially sensitive to ultrasound which should be taken into consideration during the use of devices that transmit it. Vibration of dwellings can cause biochemical changes in the body and disorders in reproduction. Only a few isolated examples of poor welfare of laboratory rodents indicate enough that, good welfare, as a state of complete mental and physical health whereby the animal without stress copes with environmental conditions, cannot be seen outside the context of providing suitable microclimate conditions.

Microclimatic Conditions; Laboratory Rodents; Welfare

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