ABSTRACT

The impact of cage ventilation on rats housed in IVC-systems

Thomas C. Krohn, Axel Kornerup Hansen & Nils Dragsted
Scanbur A/S, Lellinge, Denmark; Division of Laboratory Animal Science and Welfare, Department of Pharmacology and Pathobiology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark

Today the use of individually ventilated cage systems (IVC-systems) is common, especially for housing transgenic rodents. Typically each cage is ventilated with 40 to 50 air changes per hour, but some have up to 120 air changes. To ensure such air change, the air is blown into the cage at a relatively high speed. However, at the animal's level most systems ventilate with an air speed of approximately 0.2 m/s.

In the present study, two experiments were conducted, one analysing whether an air speeds below 0.2 m/s or just above 0.5 m/s affects the rats, and another analysing whether air changes of 50, 80 and 120 times per hour affect the rats. In both studies monitoring of preferences as well as physiological parameters, such as heart rate and blood pressure, were used to show the ability of the animals to register the different parameters and to avoid them if possible. Air speeds inside the cage as high as 0.5 m/s could not be shown to affect the rats, while the number of air changes in each cage should be kept below 80 times per hour in order not to affect the rats' physiology and behaviour.

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