Body Weight Changes of Laboratory Animals during Transportation

Abstract

The majority of laboratory animals were transported from commercial breeders to a research facility by ground transportation. During the transportation, many biological functions and systems can be affected by stress. In this experiment, the change of body weight during the transportation was measured and the recovery periods from the transportation stress established based on the body weight changes. Total 676 laboratory animals which were aged between 3 to 9 wk old were studied. The transportation time taken from container packing to unpacking the container was approximately 24 h. The temperature of animal container was constantly maintained by air-conditioning and heating equipment. Rats were found to be more sensitive than mice. The body weight of rats was significantly decreased 3.71% (p<0.05) compared to the body weight of mice which decreased 0.9% There was no significant difference between the strains in the same species. When the changes of body weights were compared between delivery days, C57BL/6 mice showed the most variable changes compared to other species and strains. Consequently, C57BL/6 was more sensitive to stress than the other strains and the transportation process needs to be standardized to reduce between day variability. To establish the recovery periods from transportation stress, the body weight changes were measured during the acclimation period. Although the body weight of animals decreased during transportation, animals recovered their weight loss after the next day.

Sex Differences in Physiological Acclimatization after Transfer in Wistar Rats

“…[ 44 ]. Weight loss, however, was modest compared to other transfer studies [ 13 , 14 , 45 ], a difference that may be due to the fact that total transfer procedures are unlikely to be identical in different studies. The relatively modest weight loss in the present study may be explained by decreased food and water intake and increased defecation during transfer [ 4 , 46 , 47 ], since BW gain returned to control levels within two days.…”

“…The relatively modest weight loss in the present study may be explained by decreased food and water intake and increased defecation during transfer [ 4 , 46 , 47 ], since BW gain returned to control levels within two days. Body weight sometimes is used as guiding indicator for determining the necessary acclimatization period of animals after transfer [ 45 ]. Given, however, the marked differences in body weight changes in response to apparently different overall transfer procedures and, moreover, that body weight seems to stabilize earlier than other parameters, it might not be advisable to rely on this parameter alone.…”

Acclimation and Institutionalization of the Mouse Microbiota Following Transportation

“…or differences in individual physiologic variations in response to a stressful situation. As a large degree of variation in other acute physiologic responses to shipping has been demonstrated (Landi et al, 1982 ; Aguila et al, 1988 ; van Ruiven et al, 1998 ; Swallow et al, 2005 ; Capdevila et al, 2007 ; Laroche et al, 2009 ; Shim et al, 2009 ; Arts et al, 2012 ; Lee et al, 2012 ), it is not surprising to see variations in the acute responses of the GM as well.…”

“…The transportation of laboratory mice from producers and animal facilities is a common occurrence in research. Most animal distributors take great care in ensuring that proper housing and environmental conditions are maintained throughout the shipping process, but even with strict guidelines to ensure animal welfare, previous studies have shown that the shipping process can induce numerous physiologic changes that are indicative of stress in rodents (Landi et al, 1982 ; Aguila et al, 1988 ; van Ruiven et al, 1998 ; Swallow et al, 2005 ; Capdevila et al, 2007 ; Laroche et al, 2009 ; Shim et al, 2009 ; Arts et al, 2012 ; Lee et al, 2012 ). From an animal welfare standpoint, it is important to recognize that these stress-like responses in animals do not necessarily indicate a pathologic change.…”

Capacitive Sensing for Non-Invasive Breathing and Heart Monitoring in Non-Restrained, Non-Sedated Laboratory Mice

“…This stress is not confined to the transported animal, but it can also affect their offspring [ 5 , 6 ]. Different parameters have been used to assess stress in animals, such as: cortisol, corticosterone and flucose, food and water consumption and weight loss [ 7 ]. After high stress levels, the mice require much time for the heart rate (HR) and breathing rate (BR) physiological signals to return to values within the normal levels.…”