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RAT : Wistar and Sprague Dawley Strains |
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Common name |
Rat |
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Scientific name |
Rattus norvegicus |
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Strain |
Wistar and Sprague Dawley |
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Source |
Denmark |
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Coat color |
Albino |
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Biological Data |
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Adult body weight |
Male 250 300 g, Female 180-220 g
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Average life span |
2-3 years |
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Age at start mating |
Male 8-10 weeks, Females 8-10 weeks |
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Estrous cycle |
4 - 5 days |
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Duration of estrus |
9 - 20 hours |
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Gestation
period |
19-22 days |
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Weaning age |
19-22 days |
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Litter
size |
9-11
pups |
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Normal birth weight |
5-6 g |
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Weaning weight |
45-65 g |
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Food consumption |
15-30 g/day (Adult) |
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Water consumption |
20-45 ml/day (Adult) |
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Eyes open |
10-14 days |
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Ears open |
12-14 days |
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Hair coat |
8-9 days |
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Nipples |
10, 3 Pairs on the thorax, 2 Pairs on the
abdomen. |
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The two outbred strains of Rat , Wistar and
Sprague Dawley strains are maintained at NLAC breeding
facility. Differences between the two rat strains are Wistar
rats possess wider head, long ears, and the tail length
always shorter than that of the body length. And in Sprague
-Dawley rats, they have longer and narrower in head , longer
tail, which may equal or be longer than the body length. |
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Growth rate |
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 |
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Husbandry |
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Breeding system
Maximum
avoidance of inbreeding mating system is applied in Wistar
and Sprague Dawley rats strains for maintenance in
foundation stock and random mating system is used for
production in production stock.
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Environment
The rats are housed
in controlled environment. The ventilation, temperature and
humidity are controlled by HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, Air
conditioning) system. They are controlled at :
- Temperature range of about 24 ± 2
ํC
- Relative humidity range of about 55 +
10%
- Air changes per hour 10-15 ACH
- Light: dark cycle 12:12 hours
- The
rat are sensitive to noise so the noise level should be
maintained less than 85 db. |
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Provision of Feed and water
The rats are fed on
commercial diet (No. CP 082) produced by Perfect companion
group co. Ltd. The manufacturer which milled the feed
according to our requested specifications. Food is provided
ad libitum in stainless steel wire- bar lid feeders.
The chlorinated RO Water is provided as drinking water
(chlorine concentration 10-12 ppm) which is free from
Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Water provided to animals by
bottles with sipper tubes.
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Bedding
Hard wood chips (or
shaving) is used for mice as bedding material. The same
bedding is used in shipping containers. Dried bedding is
packed in brown paper bags and sterilized by autoclave at
135 C for 7 minutes before used. |
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Equipment |
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Various sizes of cages are used in different
purpose of breeding process.
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Dimensions of Enclosure(inches) |
Maximum Number Animals/ Enclosure |
Types of Enclosure
And Description |
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12×11×7.5 |
3 animals (pregnant 1 wk)/cage
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Stainless steel cages with
Stainless steel wire-bar lid |
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10×7×10 |
1 animal (pregnant 2-3 wks)/cage |
Stainless steel cages with
Stainless steel wire-bar lid |
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10.5×13.5×6.5 |
1 animal (Lactating female)/cage |
Polycarbonate cages with
Stainless steel wire-bar lid |
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10×16×7 |
1 animal (Lactating female)/cage |
Stainless steel cages with
Stainless steel wire-bar lid |
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14×29×6 |
1 animal/cage |
Stainless steel cages with
Stainless steel wire-bar lid |
ICR Mouse
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Wistar Rat
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Sprague Dawley Rat
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DH Guinea-pig|
NZW Rabbit|ICR mouse (Free Hydronephrosis)|ICR mouse Hydronephrosis
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BALB/cMlac
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C3H/HeMlac
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C57BL/6Mlac
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DBA/2Mlac
|BALB/cMlac-nu |
