Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Clinical Techniques
  • Published:

Novel food items as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits

Lab Animal volume 38, pages 119–120 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

This column discusses the use of novel dietary supplements as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. The purpose of enrichment is to encourage behaviors that are appropriate for a particular species and that satisfy an animal's physical and psychological needs.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A variety of novel food items used for enrichment with rodents and rabbits.
Figure 2
Figure 3

References

  1. Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations. 9 CFR.

  2. Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 1996).

  3. Krohn, T.C., Ritskes-Hoitinga, J. & Svendsen, P. The effects of feeding and housing on the behaviour of the laboratory rabbit. Lab. Anim. 33, 101–107 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Mench, J.A. in Environmental Enrichment and The Importance of Exploratory Behaviour (eds. Shepherdson, D.J., Mellen, J.D. & Hutchins, M). 30–46 (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Baumans, V. Environmental enrichment: Practical applications. in Animal Alternatives, Welfare and Ethics (ed. Balls, M.) 187–191 (Elsevier BV, Amsterdam, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Eskola, S. & Kaliste-Korhonen, E. Aspen wood-wool is preferred as a resting place, but does not affect intracage fighting of male BALB/c and C57BL/6J mice. Lab. Anim. 33, 108–121 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kaliste-Korhonen, E., Eskola, S., Rekilä, T. & Nevalainen, T. Effects of gnawing material, group size and cage level in rack on Wistar rats. Scand. J. Lab. Anim. Sci. 22, 291–299 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Brain, P.F. The laboratory gerbil. in UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals vol. 1. (ed. Poole, T.) 345–355 (Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Wolfle, T.L. Introduction of environmental enrichment. ILAR J. 2, 79–82 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean State Veterinary Specialists, East Greenwich, 02818, RI

    Cyndi Brown

Authors
  1. Cyndi Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cyndi Brown.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brown, C. Novel food items as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Lab Anim 38, 119–120 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0409-119

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0409-119

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing