SD-95-15-4 -- Estimation of Comfortable Temperatures for Small Laboratory Animals Using Thermography ✓ Most Recent

Acceptable thermal environmental conditions for healthy people may be determined using thermal sensation votes and physiological data, but, for laboratory animals, alternative methods are necessary. Previous reports have shown that exposed body surfaces play an important role in thermoregulation. The noninvasive procedure of thermography does not disturb the natural behaviour of the animals but allows for the estimation of comfortable temperatures by measuring changes in skin temperature. Using this procedure, it was observed that tail skin temperatures of rats, mice, and house musk shrews caged singly differed from individual animals of the same species housed in groups. Also, a temperature gradient between the animal cage and the climatic chamber was detected; the gradient was smaller for singly caged animals than for groups. The data suggest that comfortable temperatures for rats range from 26 to 27.5degC; 25 to 27degC for mice; and 23 to 25degC for house musk shrews.

KEYWORDS: year 1995, calculating, thermal comfort, animals, laboratory animal housing, animal housing, thermophotography, skin, temperature