Breeding and Rearing of the Pika (<I>Ochotona rufescens rufescens</I>) as a New Laboratory Animal Species

Fine Structure of the Parotid Gland in the Pika and the Volcano Rabbit

“…Currently, the breeding, rearing and the morphological characteristics of the pika and the volcano rabbit are being clarified [7,8,9,20].…”

Pyrogenic Responses of the Pika, <I>Ochotona rufescens rufescens</I>

“…Indeed, body weight gain within 7 days after copulation may be an effective parameter with which to confirm gestation. Matsuzaki et al [7] reported that cannibalism shortly after parturition was not as frequent in pikas asin rabbits. In this study, however, many neonates were cannibalized, resulting in a mean of 1.8 dead pups per litter while nursing continued.…”

“…For our purposes, the breeding was carried out according to the methods of Matsuzaki et al [7]. Three-month-old sexually mature male and female pikas were placed in a cage overnight.…”

“…After serial breeding by Puget, the pikas were introduced into Japan, and their usefulness as a new laboratory animal species has been evaluated [6][7][8]13,15,16] . We studied the histology and enzymatic histochemistry of pika skin [12] and its response to primary irritants [11].…”

Gestation Reriod of the Laboratory Reared Volcano Rabbit (<I>Romerolagus diazi</I>)

“…The gestation period of volcano rabbits were compared with those of six species of Lagomorpha as shown in Table 2. The gestation period of the pikas [4,7,9] is shorter than those of the volcano rabbit, hare and European rabbit.…”