Guide to the Responsible Care & Use of Laboratory Animals at UWM
Chapter VI: Veterinary Medical Care
Chapter VI 
(for printing)
Animal Procurement and Transportation
Preventative Medicine
Emergencies
Surveillance, Diagnosis, Treatment and Control of Disease
Drug Storage and Control
Animal Procurement and Transportation
Rodents are procured from commercial laboratory animal facilities or from other institutions. Health records are sent from the vendors that detail serology studies performed at the facilities to ensure the healthy status of the animals shipped to purchasers. Similar data should be obtained from animals obtained from interinstitutional transfers. All large animals species are procured from USDA licensed dealers. Frogs are ordered from aquatic animal supply houses. Fish are obtained from the wild, obtained from other institutions or purchased from vendors.
The Animal Care Supervisor reviews all data on incoming animals and if necessary relays the information to the veterinarian.
Rodents are shipped to the facility in special crates containing a food/water source.
- Rabbits are delivered in wire carrying cages.
- Frogs are shipped in containers with a food/water source.
- Fish will be transported in special trucks in water vats.
- Rodents are transported within the facilities in ventilated shoebox cages.
- Rabbits are transported in an appropriate rabbit carrier case.
Animals may be transported intra-institutionally. For additional information on procurement see Chapter 7.
Preventative Medicine
Quarantine, Stabilization and Separation
Animals should be checked upon arrival for overt signs of injury or illness by the investigator or the animal care supervisor. Rabbits should further be checked for malocclusion or ear mites. Rodents should also be checked for malocclusion. The veterinarian will check on animals and if necessary perform stool analysis or other laboratory tests required. Investigators will check frogs and fish upon arrival for any signs of illness or stress.
Animals are generally provided a period of stabilization of 7 to 10 days after arrival to acclimate to the new environment. The stabilization period allows animals to have a period for physiological, psychological and nutritional stabilization before their use.
Animals entering acute studies may be used in a shorter time period and timed-pregnant animals may also be used in a shorter time period. Quarantine space is available to house animals if needed. Rodents and rabbits from the same vendor will be placed in a room with currently housed rodents from the same vendor unless the investigator requires quarantine.
Rabbits are typically housed in a quarantine room for at least one week before being introduced to rooms containing other rabbits.
Isolation rooms are available in the main facility. Animals that are ill are reported to the Animal Care Manager and the veterinarian who will determine whether they need to be isolated. In general, investigators are encouraged to isolate animals that that may be contagious to others to ensure the safety of the rest of the colony.
All animals are separated into rooms by species. Animals are further separated into rooms by their sources if possible unless the investigator requests the animals to be housed in the same room for research purposes.
Surveillance, Diagnosis, Treatment and Control of Disease
The veterinarian, the Animal Care Manager and the investigators or their students observe all mammals and birds on a daily basis including weekends and holidays. Investigators or their students observe the fish or frogs daily. Workcharts are posted in all bird/mammal rooms that should be initialed by the person doing the daily check. Work-charts or log books should be located near to aquatic animal housing.
Individuals should contact the lab manager or veterinarian, and the investigator, if they suspect an animal is sick or injured. They should also try to isolate the animal. The veterinarian will give advice for treatment and the use of appropriate medications. The veterinarian is available to perform routine necropsies and can be contacted to obtain samples to send out to local laboratories for diagnostic purposes.
All instructions regarding the provision of veterinary care will be done directly between the veterinarian and the responsible party reporting the problem with a particular animal.
The veterinarian will inform the Animal Care Manager and the Investigator of diagnostic procedures and treatments. All medications will be given under the advice and supervision of the veterinarian.
Medical records are required to be maintained for rabbits . These records should be completed by the party performing any type of procedure on the rabbits. Records of medications given to rodents or other species should be written on the work charts and initialed by the responsible party.
All rodents and rabbits are monitored by vendor surveillance. Sentinel animals may be used to monitor the health status of rodent colonies if requested by the investigator.
Subclinical microbial, particularly viral, infections occur frequently in conventionally maintained rodents. Some infectious agents can be subclinical but induce profound immunologic changes or alter physiologic, pharmacologic or toxicologic responses.
Scientific objectives of a particular protocol, the consequences of infection within a specific strain of rodent, and the adverse effects that infectious agents might have on other protocols in a facility should determine the characteristics of rodent healthsurveillance programs and strategies for keeping rodents free of specific pathogens.
Transplantable tumors, hybridomas, cell lines, and other biologic materials can be sources of murine viruses that can contaminate rodents.
Provisions for Emergency, Weekend and Holiday Care
Weekend and holiday care will be provided for by the Animal Care Manager, the veterinarian or Laboratory Animal Caretakers. The Veterinarian is available on a 24-hour on-call basis. When she is out of town the University has arranged for another lab animal veterinarian to take any potential calls. The University has an emergency manual which outlines what to do in emergency situations which can be found on the animal care program webpage: www.safety.uwm.edu. The Veterinarian and Laboratory Animal Manager should be contacted if the situation presents any type of danger to the animals’ well being.
Genetics and Nomenclature
Investigators are encouraged to contact the Veterinarian or the Animal Care Manager for any questions regarding the use of standardized nomenclature. Likewise, investigators should contact these persons if they have questions regarding breeding colony maintenance. Breeding records should be maintained by the investigator. Health surveillance programs should be considered by the investigator to ensure that the colony is healthy and free of sub-clinical disease.
Drug Storage and Control
The Veterinarian dispenses non-controlled drugs and advises investigators on the correct drug to purchase. Investigators are responsible for the acquisition, licensing, storage, use and disposal of controlled substances that they may use for research purposes. Please see the animal care program webpage at www.safety.uwm.edu under the animal care program/ controlled substances for instructions on how to obtain controlled substances and how to dispose of them.
Individuals who purchase controlled drugs are responsible to keep a log book of their use by each “ml”. Inventory records can be recorded on this Controlled Substance Usage Inventory
. Investigators are responsible to check their own drugs regularly to dispose of out-of–date drugs. The IACUC will also check drugs and log books during regularly scheduled tours to ensure that investigators are not using out–of-date drugs.
Updated June 8, 2007 by SAK