Animal Handling and Weighing

Purpose

Ø To allow the animal to get accustomed to human contact

Care and gentling of animals

The animal should be gentled for a minimum of 5 days prior to being used in an experiment.

1. Remove the water bottle from the cage. Place the cage slowly on newspaper, taking care not to crush the animal's toes or tail.

2. Take a deep breath and relax. If you are tense, this is likely to translate to either too firm a grip on the animal, which can cause it to feel discomfort and possibly respond aggressively, or too loose a grip on the animal, which can result in a fall and injury to the animal. If gloves are to be worn, larger, looser cloth gloves are recommended. Unless the animal is extremely aggressive, bulky gloves should NOT be worn, as they reduce the handler's grip sensitivity and can lead to improper holding force.

3. With the sleeves of your lab coat rolled down, hold one of your arms against your body, to be used as a sort of perch for the animal. With the other hand, approach the animal from above and behind, with a clean, swift motion.

4. Grasp the animal with one hand around the thorax, and the thumb up under the animal's chin so it cannot bite. Once grasped, roll the animal's body slightly so that its weight rests against the palm of your hand securely.

5. Immediately transfer the animal to the arm held against your body. Cross your other arm under the first, so that you have an area two arms wide in which the animal can move relatively freely. The animal should be allowed to explore this area for at least 5 minutes. You can sit and allow the rat the extra support of your lap if you wish.

6. On each of the following 4 days, as the animal becomes more comfortable, you should habituate it to being handled by transferring it occasionally to the other arm, turning it in place to face the opposite direction, and walking small distances with it. You should also talk freely while holding the animal so it becomes accustomed to the sounds in your body and the odors of your breath when you speak. Always handle the animal for at least 5 min.

Weighing the Animal

7. At the end of each handling period, the animal’s weight should be taken and charted. If the animal urinates or defecates in the scale pan, please wipe it out with a clean paper towel before the next animal is placed inside.

8. After handling and weighing, replace the animal in its cage, put the cage back on the rack, and the bottle back on the cage. Bottle placement may take a little practice to do correctly, so please ask a TA, or graduate student or animal care technician to check it your first few times to insure the animal has access to water.

9. Clean up any urination or defecations from floors, countertops, or sinks.

10. Be sure not to touch in or around your eyes, or to scratch any skin surfaces, until you have washed and dried your hands thoroughly, as contact with the animals causes allergic-type reactions in some people.