title: Color preferences of laboratory mice for bedding materials: evaluation using radiotelemetry.
abstract: Preferences for different housing conditions in mice were evaluated by radiotelemetry. Male C57BL/6J and ICR mice were used. Preference for bedding materials in mice was compared among three materials, wood shavings (WS), paper (CF) and cloth (AG), using the length of stay in cages as a parameter. The results indicated that mice stayed longer in a cage with AG than in cages with other bedding materials. The present study confirmed our previous results and thereby indicated that radiotelemetry is a useful method to evaluate impacts of housing conditions on animal welfare. In the second part of this study, we used radiotelemetry to evaluate color preference of the mice for cloth bedding material. In C57BL/6J mice, staying time in black cloth was significantly longer than that in white cloth. In ICR mice, staying time in white cloth was significantly longer than that in black cloth. The mice preferred the environment with the same color as their fur, which may be important for animal welfare.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Animals, Center for Integrated Research in Science, Shimane University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Rei-ichiro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Mohammed Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Ferdaus
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tongu
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Takaya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Yuta
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nabika
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory / Q000523:psychology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003116:Color; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D013045:Species Specificity; D013686:Telemetry / Q000379:methods*