Effects of floor materials on spontaneous motor behavior in 2 strains of mice: Relationship with age

摘要

As a step to evaluating the contribution of floor material to the well-being of experimental mice, the preference for three floor materials, wood shavings, timothy and recycled paper, was estimated by examining spontaneous motor activity at 3 and 7 months of age and various parameters in SHN and C3H/He virgin mice. In the wood-group of SHN, the activity was low at 3 months of age and increased at 7 months, quite the opposite to that in C3H/He. In the timothy-and paper-groups of both strains, the difference in the activity due to age was not so marked and showed a similar pattern. Body weight change, food and water intakes, estrous cycle and plasma and urine component levels as well as general behavior differed slightly among groups of either strain.All findings suggest little difference in the preference of virgin mice for materials used in this study.