1 15 1 https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/f01aec5b9ccdb88c15587b0e406c3b0d.pdf fe01a6c21d47965eaf604917a35091c9 PDF Text Text Historic, archived Do not assume content scientific knowledge, document reflects current policies, or practices. ��LIBRARY \M RECORD Uni -ted.. states iDepartment of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Seirvice OF ASRiGUlin' Wildlife Leaflet 214 I V/ashiAgten, P.. March 1942 C>. ^I CAES' OF -.WHITS MICE AITD BATS '. Prepared in the Section of Ihar Resources Division of Wildlife Research White mice and rats are raised principally for use in medical laboratories in testing remedies and in determining certain types of disease; though they are also raised as pets. The information in this leaflet is based chiefly on the food and breeding liabits and the' housing requirements of white mice, but it will apply in a general way to white rats also, - ' . : . . .: . FOOD. ...... '' \ Many commercial firms that raise v/hite mice and rats feed them specially prepared pellets containing a variety of ground cereals and soybean meal or other protein supplements. These can be obtained from a local feed dealer, A mixture of whole grains and soybean pellets may also Lettuce, chickweed, or other green feeds, and boiled carrots, be fed. potatoes, or parsnips should occasionally be furnished in small quantities^ and fresh water should be supplied in every cage. All dishes should be kept clean and should be disinfected frequently by scalding, BEEEDING The mice and rats attain sexual maturity at 2 to 3 months of age. The gestation period is about 21 days. Pemales produce litters of about 5 young every 30 days until they are about 18 months old. Usually, however, it is better not to breed them again until they have ceased nursing the previous litter, for they soon break down under the strain of supporting two litters at the same time, The young are weaned when 20 to 25 days old. Under this plan each breeding female would produce successive litters at intervals of 6 or 7 weeks, and in the course of a year would produce about 40 ;^'0ung. Each male may have in his cage 3 or 4 females if they are without young. Each female is removed to a separate cage This leaflet supersedes Biological Survey Leaflet Bi-263 issued in December 1927 by the Bureau of Biological Survey under the Department of Agriculture, ImOTE: �before fche young are 'bom ajid is kept there until the young are weaned, The-mice and rats are suitable for laboratory use v;hen they are 6 weeks old. , ' ~ CAGES- . . ,. Experiments ^^dth both wooden and metal cages have shown that, other conditions being equal, better results will be obtained in a large colony of white mice or rats by using wooden cages* The cages should be about 16 inches long, 14 inches -i^ide. and 10 inches high, inside measurements. The front, back, and bottom should be made of galvanized- v/i re netting of l/4-inch-souare nt^n, and the bottom should be so constructed that a dry pan can be placed underneath. Clean straw or shavings provide go:)d bedExcelsior ir;ak:es good nesting material. ding. White mice and rats thrive best in a temperature of about 65° -,-:.•...• ?>En;EErJCES , T-, . More complete information on raising white mice and rats is contained -in "Breeding and Care of the Albino Eat for Research Purposes, " by Milton «J, G-reerjnan and E, Louise Dehring, published by the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, Philadelphia, Pa.; and in "Pets for Pleasure and Profit," by. A. Hyatt Verrill, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, iJew York, iJ, Y, � Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Care of white mice and rats Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-03 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service,