Hydrophobic Sand Versus Metabolic Cages: A Comparison of Urine Collection Methods for Rats (Rattus norvegicus)

• Published in: Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 51 - 57
• Main Authors: Hoffman, Jessica F, Fan, Anya X, Neuendorf, Elizabeth H, Vergara, Vernieda B, Kalinich, John F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Animals; Experimental Use; Housing, Animal; Laboratory Animal Science; Male; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Urine Specimen Collection - veterinary

A common method for urine collection from rats requires the use of a metabolic cage, thus exposing animals to extended periods of isolation in an unfamiliar cage with a wire-mesh floor. A new method involving hydrophobic sand, a material more similar to bedding, has become available recently but has...