Stress Evaluation of Various Breeding Environments in Mouse

Abstract

Laboratory animals are raised in a fixed space during the study period and are environmentally bound. Laboratory animal may be under stress on the constrained environment, which changes physiological indicators, affecting the reproducibility and accuracy of animal study. Therefore, reducing animal stress by providing proper breeding environment and environmental enrichment can be the basis for animal study. In this study, the stress level was assessed according to the mouse breeding environment. According to the results of the experiment, it was determined that the individual ventilation cage had less cortisol concentration in serum and body weight increased in the individual ventilation cage than individual isolated cage, when providing environmental enrichment rather than group breeding or not providing environmental enrichment. The results will provide appropriate guidelines for laboratory animal welfare.