Animal Care Services

Animal Ordering

IACUC approval

Before animals can be ordered the intended use must be described in an Animal Usage Form and approved by the IACUC. The IACUC protocol number must be provided when the order is placed. The number of animals ordered is automatically deducted from the total number approved. If an investigator uses up their animal quota prior to completion of the experiment, they must seek IACUC approval for additional animals and describe why the original number requested did not suffice.

Maintenance of Animals Associated with an Expired IACUC Protocol

The University's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) would like researchers who work with animals to take a moment to review the policy regarding how animals associated with an expired IACUC protocol will be handled. This policy can be found here.

Setting up an account
RAR will bill the cost of the animals to a CUFS number provided by the investigator. The investigator is also asked to provide a "billing name" that will appear on the animals' cage card. Investigators may use more than one billing account if desired. However, investigators are still responsible for using funds approved for the specific use for which the animals were purchased.
Placing the order
Orders are placed by calling the Business Office at 612-624-6169 or by ordering online through RAR's Web-based animal ordering system. Investigators must authorize individuals to order animals; the order can be placed online; and the RAR business staff will process as for phone orders. For online ordering access information view the Privacy Policy for Research Animal Resources and Request for Online RAR Animal Ordering Form. The person placing the order will be asked to provide the protocol number and billing account to be used for the purchase. The name and number of a contact person for the animals is also needed. Full details of the animal request must be provided, including the following:

Species, Strain, Sex

Age or weight

Vendor

Requested housing area and housing type (SPF, conventional, autoclaved housing)

Desired date of arrival

Any special requests, such as timed pregnancy, specific health requirements, etc.

The order is confirmed and an order number is given. This number should be used for all communications related to that order. A $10 cancellation fee will be invoiced if the order is cancelled by the investigative group after RAR has placed the order with the vendor.

Order lead time
There is a specific lead time that must be allowed for all animal purchases. These times should be consulted when planning the experiment and prior to placing the order. Late orders or rush orders will incur additional costs: $50 for rodent orders, $100 for non-rodent orders.
Pricing
The price of the animal may not include shipping costs. RAR can provide an estimate of this cost at the time the order is placed. Vendor catalogs can provide this information as well. If animals are obtained from other institutions the cost is normally negotiated between the investigator and the supplier.
Dog and Cat Standard Charges (Routine specifications and regular scheduling for order placement and delivery):
The final price will be vendor cost of the animal, plus vendor delivery charge, if applicable, plus a $140 Administrative Assistance Charge per animal, plus the current Animal Ordering Charge per order.
Charges for Additional Services (Nonstandard Orders)
Our procurement specialists will work with investigators to try to optimize the balance between cost and availability. Rodent Orders from non-commercial vendors (eg. other universities) will incur additional costs.
Animal receipt
When animals are received the Business Office staff check to make sure the shipping information matches the order information. The animals themselves are checked in by animal care or veterinary staff. If there is a problem the investigator will be contacted. Once animals are housed the animal care staff will contact the investigator to notify them that the order was received. They will indicate the order number and the details of the order. Investigators should verify that the order meets their requirements as credits can normally only be arranged within the first few days of receipt.
Animal transfers
Investigators may request to have animals transferred from one protocol to another or to another institution. These transfers must be approved by an RAR veterinarian or the IACUC. Submit forms to the RAR Business Office. If the transfer results in housing of the animal in the new area, the animal may not be transferred until the RAR Supervisor of the recipient area has approved the transfer.
Submitting Protocol Transfer Requests

Whenever an animal needs to be transferred from one protocol to another (change of investigator, move from a breeding protocol to a research/teaching protocol, renewal of an expiring protocol, etc.) a transfer form must be completed and submitted to Research Animal Resources to officially track the animals and their approved use. That form may be downloaded at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/transfer.pdf

A frequent problem noticed by RAR is that when investigators renew a protocol (approval is for three years maximum), it is assumed that animals housed under the old or expired protocol will be automatically transferred to the renewal protocol. That is not the case. Investigators must submit a protocol transfer to have animals placed onto new protocols. In addition, the renewal protocol must have animal numbers listed in the "Transferred" column on the Animal Request Table or else the animals transferred from the expiring protocol will be deducted from the number of animals that have been approved for purchase.

Housing

Housing assignment
Investigators may request that their animals be housed in a specific area when the order is placed. However, all requests are subject to approval pending available space and the needs of the facility. If there is a problem accommodating an investigator's request, the area supervisor will contact the investigator to discuss options. An RAR veterinarian should be consulted for information on the location and general availability of specific types of housing.
Investigator access to facilities
Investigators are allowed unlimited access to the facilities in which their animals are housed with the following caveats:

RAR has established animal care and room sanitation schedules that are posted in each room. RAR's needs have priority during these times.

Most facilities are locked after hours (normal animal care hours start at 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 7:00 a.m. until noon or later on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.)

Departments are responsible for obtaining keys for animal facilities through Facilities Management. Keys for animal rooms are requested through the RAR Area Supervisor.

Key request forms must be signed by the RAR Area Supervisor or an RAR Veterinarian and the employees' Principal Investigator.

The access to some facilities is controlled through U-card readers. Investigators must possess a current U-card and must submit a request to have their card added to the access control for their housing area.

Investigators may request keys from RAR or request to be let into a facility by contacting the Business Office at 624-6169 (624-2203 or 625-5794 in St. Paul) during business hours.

Investigators may only enter nonhuman primate and SPF rodent facilities if they have received proper training.

Transportation

Transport of Animals Within and Between Research Facilities on the Twin Cities campuses at the University of Minnesota

Within buildings:

Research animals should be transported by hand or cart in covered containers that visually obscure the animals from passers by and physically contain animal wastes. Animals should not be transported on public elevators or corridors. RAR may be consulted for advice on the best routes for your needs.

Between buildings:

RAR must be contacted for transportation of animals between disconnected buildings. The use of personally owned vehicles or public transportation to transport laboratory animals presents a risk of contamination of the vehicle and exposure of family members and other non-research personnel to pathogens. A dedicated vehicle which can be sanitized after use should be used to transport research animals. There is no charge for this service if the animals are being transferred from one RAR holding area to another RAR holding area and advance notification of 4 full business days is received.

Transport of Animals to Other Institutions
RAR is responsible for transporting animals to other institutions to ensure that regulatory requirements are met. These include proper transport cages, monitoring of environmental conditions, and preparation of health reports and other documentation. Animal transport should be arranged with the RAR Business office by calling 4-6169. If ownership of animals is being transferred to another institution, permission from the IACUC is also required. A transfer request form must be completed and returned to RAR.
RAR Animal Transport Services

No Charge

Initial delivery of any animals to an RAR facility where the order was placed with the required lead time. This includes both the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses.

A transfer coming from a RAR holding area and going to another RAR holding area, if advance notification of 4 full business days is received.

A canceled animal transport order if cancellation notice is received prior to loading the animal or animals onto the truck.

Fee-Based Charges

When the initial animal delivery is made and the driver incurs additional time or effort beyond the designated entrance, the driver will charge assistance time. An example of an additional charge-item is delivery of the animal to the investigator's laboratory or to and from Nils Hasselmo Hall (NHH) which is a non-animal holding facility.

There is a $78 charge for a transfer coming from either a RAR holding area or non-RAR Twin Cities Campus holding area and going to a RAR holding area, if the 4 full business days' notice is not received.

There is a $15.00 charge if an animal order is canceled and the driver has already loaded the animals. There is a $30 charge if an animal order is canceled and the driver has already left the loading area.

For transport to/from the Minneapolis VA facility, there is a fee of one hour technical time and five miles.

PER DIEM CHARGES

RAR recovers some of the cost of the administration, animal care, facility maintenance, and monitoring activities through an assessment of per diem rates for various species. These per diem charges are reviewed and revised annually. Per diem rates are based upon principles in the Cost Analysis and Rate Setting Manual for Animal Resource Facilities sponsored by the Division of Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. Per diem rates incorporate costs of animal care as well as unique costs associated with specialized husbandry, such as in quarantine or hazard containment (Biosafety Level-2) facilities for infectious agents or hazardous chemicals.

Barcoded Cage Cards

Barcoded cage cards and the automatic per diem billing system.
The Basics:
RAR has implemented a system of automatic per diem billing for research and teaching animals. It is based on the University Store's demurrage system - daily charges begin automatically upon receipt of the animal and continue until the billing unit (cage, animal, etc.) is actively discontinued. When an animal order is received by the Business Office, cage cards with barcoded information containing the PI name, budget, species, housing, and per diem rate are automatically generated. Animal rooms are regularly scanned to verify the automatic census and billing. Investigators can deactivate a billing unit by placing the barcoded cage card in an Area Out Box.
Billing:

Your per diem bill will be charged to the designated budget twice a month. And this information will be available the next business day in the Data Warehouse: http://www.umreports.umn.edu

The bill can be located by CUFS account number or by IV transaction number.

Keeps an up to date inventory of your animals and their charges.

Research Team Responsibilities:

Cage cards must be returned to RAR to turn off the per diem billing.

Research Teams will be responsible for barcoding their cage cards in the event of Breeding expansion or Separation of cage occupants.

Returning the Cage Cards to RAR:

There is an "Out Box" for all cage cards in each animal holding facility

The Out Box is emptied daily and returned to the RAR business office.

The day the barcoded card is placed in the Out Box will be the last day of billing charges.

Sales Orders:

All new animals coming in from vendors will have bar codes on their cage cards.

Breeding Cards:

Applicable for Breeding Animals and Timed Pregnancies

Two part Card- One goes on the new cage the other gets dated and returned to the business office by placement in the Out Box.

These will be pre-printed for your convenience.

Temporary Cards:

These are used if rodents need to be separated into more cages for any reason

Two part card: one goes on cage the other returned to business office by placement in the Out Box. A new bar coded card will be routed to you through the Area Supervisor.

Euthanasia or Raptor Cards:

If you decide to have our staff Euthanize or Raptor your animals, you can use these cards available in the card box in each room.

Fill out the Card, and place on cage then put the original cage card in the Out Box and RAR will take care of the rest.

No you will not be billed forever if you don't return the cage card:

If you lose the cage card, you will not be billed forever.

On a biweekly basis RAR will scan the cards to validate animal inventories. If your card is not scanned twice in a row, the per diem billing will be turned off retroactively to the first no-scan.

Helpful Information:

Out Box SOP

Temporary Card SOP

Breeding Card SOP

RAR Homepage

http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/breedingcage.pdf: To request more breeding cards

http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/transfer.pdf (Physical, protocol, and account transfers)

Routine Animal Care

Animal care staff and Supervisors
Animal facilities are staffed with trained laboratory animal care staff. Each group of technicians is supervised by a Laboratory Animal Technician Specialist (Area Supervisor) with specific training and/or many years of experience in the care of laboratory animals. Supervisors assign specific responsibilities to animal care personnel to provide routine husbandry and care for animals.
Daily care
Standard RAR procedures are detailed in the Procedures of Animal Care Manual. Routine care includes:

Feeding standard diets and providing fresh water

Changing cages and bedding

Sanitizing rooms, cages, racks, water bottles and other equipment

Observing animals and reporting on animals' condition to veterinary staff

Removing dead animals from cages; identifying and placing them in carcass coolers; and notifying the research staff.

Housing conditions
Animal housing conditions are specified in great detail in the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations and in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. RAR's animal care program is designed to ensure that these standards are met. Special housing or feeding requests must be arranged with the RAR Area Supervisor. If these requests do not comply with regulatory housing standards they must be approved by the IACUC. A summary of housing requirements is available here. The main issues for animal housing include:

Monitoring- animals must be monitored daily for adequate environmental conditions and general health

Facilities- facility construction, ventilation, lighting and sanitation must meet regulatory standards

Housing- cages must be appropriately constructed, sizes must be appropriate to the needs of the animals, cages must be sanitized at appropriate intervals, adequate socialization and environmental enrichment must be provided

Food and Water- must be of adequate quality and provided at appropriate intervals

Special Diets / Water - Animals on special diets or additives in the drinking water that are given by the research staff instead of RAR employees, the feed, water and supplies must be maintained on an ongoing basis. If animal cages are observed without sufficient supply of the special diet or water or if RAR cannot determine when the animals were last fed or watered, RAR employees will try to contact the research staff. If the research staff cannot be contacted within a reasonable amount of time ("reasonable amount of time" varies with the species involved), RAR employees will provide standard food and water to the animals. This applies equally to cages or pens which have been marked by the research staff as "do not feed (or water)" or "investigator will feed (or water)". If you have questions about this, please contact your Area Veterinarian to discuss your concerns.

Animal identification
Animals must be identified at all times.

Dogs and cats must have permanent identification such as a collar and tag or a tattoo and have a cage card

Other larger animals typically have ear tags, tattoos or other individual identifiers and have a cage card

Rodents, rabbits and non-mammals may be identified at the room level if all identification information is identical for all animals in the room, at the cage level (cage card) or at the individual level (ear tags, tattoos, ear punches, etc.) Toe clipping is not acceptable without justification to, and approval from, the IACUC. The NIH intramural policy on toe clipping as rodent identification may be found at http://oacu.od.nih.gov/ARAC/FinalToeClip0504.pdf.

IACUC Policy on Identification of Animals Used in Research or Teaching Activities

Cage cards or room postings must include the following information:

IACUC protocol number

Investigator name, department, billing account and phone number

Animal species, strain, sex, age, date of birth, date of arrival

RAR provides all required identification for animals when they arrive in the facility, including cage cards, ear tags for large animals and ID tags for dogs and cats. Additional identification such as tattooing can be provided as a special service.
Exercise and enrichment
RAR has enrichment procedures for most species of animals under its care. Enrichment is necessary to allow animals to express normal behaviors and prevent behavioral problems and stress associated with long-term confinement housing. Investigators are expected to cooperate with these programs unless there are experiment-related reasons animals cannot participate. Exemptions may only be granted by an RAR veterinarian or the IACUC. [General bibliography on enrichment]

Dogs and cats
Dogs and cats are normally provided exercise outside of their cages in same sex compatible groups on a daily basis for at least 15 minutes during normal work days. There are some exceptions to this general rule. Animals in the post-operative care program, animals that are ill or animals on which procedures have been performed for which exercise is contraindicated (e.g. cardiovascular or orthopedic procedures) are normally exempted. Aggressive animals will not be released for exercise with other animals. Exemptions are normally noted on the cage card and are also maintained in a log by RAR. Animals less than 12 weeks of age may not be exercised with adult animals other than their parents. If animals are housed in a pen with at lease twice the required floor space, or if they are group housed, they will only be exercised daily if time permits. At a minimum they will be exercised 3 days per week for 20 minutes.
The following requirements apply to all dogs exercised at all RAR facilities:

When possible, dogs will be exercised in compatible groups to provide social interaction. Such groups will include only one sex at a time. A member of RAR staff will be present during group exercise to verify animal compatibility and provide additional information.

All dogs will wear identification collars during all exercise periods, or they will carry permanent identification.

When procedures are planned in conflict with the exercise schedule, it will be the responsibility of the principal investigator to notify RAR so that the dog is available and/or rested. Requests for exemption from exercise will be handled through the RAR veterinarian in a similar manner.

Exercise is to be documented for all dogs not housed in pairs or runs. A notation of exercise dates will be made on the census sheet for each room.

Nonhuman Primates
Nonhuman primates have extremely complex social and foraging behaviors. They require significantly more enrichment than other species. RAR's enrichment program consists of the following components:

Opportunities for social interaction, including housing in compatible pairs, visual contact with other nonhuman primates and socialization with the animal care staff and veterinary technician.

Foraging opportunities, such as provision of special "food treats", use of puzzle feeders and foraging boards.

Environmental manipulanda such as toys, chew sticks, perches, swings and an exercise cage.

Visual and auditory stimuli through videos and television

Enrichment procedures are varied regularly with nonhuman primates to ensure that the activity is novel. Investigators are encouraged to participate in the enrichment program. However, they should consult with the veterinary staff to ensure that efforts are coordinated and that animals do not receive articles that may be dangerous or excessive amounts of "treats" that could interfere with their normal diet.
[Nonhuman primate enrichment bibliography]
Rodents, Rabbits, Nonmammals
Enrichment for rodents is provided through use of contact bedding and nesting material (provides for normal burrowing and exploratory behaviors) and social housing. Rodents may not be housed on wire-bottom cages if they will be in the facility more than four months, if they have litters or if their weight exceeds 600 g. This is to protect them from foot lesions and hypothermia, as well as to provide enrichment. Food treats may be provided to rodents providing they do not significantly reduce the consumption of the normal diet.
Enrichment for rabbits consists of providing them with various "toys" and food treats such as fresh produce and shredded wheat.
Chinchillas are provided with a "dust bath" once weekly. This rolling behavior is normally expressed by chinchillas and serve as a grooming aid.
While there are not specific enrichment programs for non-mammals, group housing, use of perches and provision of nesting or hiding places are all husbandry practices that can enhance the animals living environment.

Research Activities

Use of RAR facilities
RAR animal rooms are primarily intended for animal housing. Certain minor procedures may be performed in the rooms, such as injections, blood collection and weighing. Surgery or post-mortem examination may not be performed in the animal rooms to prevent stress to the other animals. Any procedures performed in the animal rooms must be scheduled around RAR's daily care activities.
Many RAR facilities have associated procedure rooms. These rooms must be scheduled by investigators, usually through a sign-up sheet on the room door. There is no charge for the use of these rooms.
RAR does not provide storage area in housing or procedure rooms. Investigators should bring a cart or box with needed equipment and supplies to the anima use area.
RAR performs basic room cleaning procedures once a day. Investigators are responsible for cleaning up after they have worked in an RAR room. If rooms are not cleaned RAR will clean them and bill the investigator for their time.
Removal of animals to laboratories
Investigators may transport animals within the same general area; transport between major facilities (e.g. Minneapolis to St. Paul, from the Health Center complex to Elliott, CMRR or LRB, movement of large animals to NHH) should be performed or supervised by RAR.
Animals may only be removed to laboratories for periods of less than 12 hours. If animals are to be held for longer times investigators must have special permission granted from the IACUC and a scientific justification for housing the animals in the laboratory. A description of the care and monitoring of the animals must be provided.
Food and water must be available to the animals when they are maintained in a laboratory and animals must be properly identified.
Care must be taken to prevent escape of animals during transport and contamination of personnel with animal or experimental hazards. Therefore, the animals must be transported in a cage.
The cage should be filter covered if hazardous agents are present in the animal, food or bedding.
Public corridors should be avoided whenever possible.
Traffic flow guidelines should be observed to prevent rodent disease contamination.

Euthanasia
In most cases animals are euthanized at the end of their studies. If animals are not euthanized, the final disposition must be indicated in the Animal Usage Form. Euthanasia must be performed using methods approved by the IACUC.
RAR will euthanize small animals at no charge for investigators; farm animal euthanasia will be charged time and materials. Euthanasia requests must be placed through RAR's Business Office (624-6169). These euthanasias are performed on RAR's schedule. If investigators wish to schedule euthanasia for the purpose of collecting tissues, RAR will charge for that as a veterinary special service. RAR provides carbon dioxide euthanasia chambers in most of its animal facilities. Investigators should be familiar with the use of these chambers.

Rodents for Raptors
Certain animals may be donated to the Raptor Rehabilitation Center in lieu of euthanasia. These animals are euthanized and used as food for the birds of prey in the rehabilitation program at the Gabbert Raptor Center on the St. Paul Campus. In fact, they depend on our generosity to supply them with the majority of the eagle, hawk, falcon and owl food.

Eligible species include mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas and rabbits of all sizes and ages. Transgenic and knock-out rodents are not eligible.

Eligible animals include: litter mates of transgenic or knock-out mice, retired breeders, 'surprise' litters, spontaneous deaths or illnesses, improperly ordered or surplus animals, normal control animals, bodies of those used for tissue harvest, sentinels, etc.

Animals must be euthanized by a nonchemical method such as carbon dioxide overdose. If an animal has received any anesthetic or euthanasia solution it is not eligible. Animals that die spontaneously and are quickly refrigerated or frozen are also eligible.

Any animal that has received drugs or biohazard agents of any kind during the course of an experiment is not eligible. This includes anesthetics or antibiotics.

Animals exhibiting signs of or dying from a spontaneous disease are also allowed as food. Examples of animals acceptable to the raptor center include those with ectoparasites (fur mites), abscesses, fractures, or tumors. It is not acceptable to leave a suffering animal alive until the designated pick-up day. These animals should be euthanized and the body refrigerated or frozen.

The Raptor Center can also use animals that have been properly refrigerated or frozen. When refrigerating or freezing mice or other small rodents, place them neatly in a plastic bag no more than three animals deep. Rats, guinea pigs and rabbits should be refrigerated or frozen singly.

Metal ear tags are allowed. These are removed by the food preparation people or regurgitated by the raptors.

Method

Mark cages "Raptor" or place in the designated room in the area.

Dead animals can be dropped off in the designated areas in the animal facilities or in the designated refrigerators.

Carcass disposal
Animals that have died or are euthanized and are to be disposed of must be placed in a sealed plastic bag or glove and then placed in the red bag within the red biohazard container located in the animal morgue coolers. Do not place animal tissues or other full biohazard bags in the red barrels left outside of the cooler. Place your bags in the barrels kept inside the cooler. Do not put bags on the floor of the cooler. All bags and tissues must be placed in a red plastic barrel lined with a biohazard bag. There is a 50 pound limit on how much can be placed in these containers. Larger animals must be sectioned. It is essential that all animals be carefully examined to determine that they are dead prior to placing in the bag. Animals euthanized with ether must be kept in a fume hood for 30 min to evaporate the ether before they are placed in the morgues to prevent ethafume explosions.
Please also note that the death of any dog or cat must be reported to the RAR office (624-6169) for Federal record keeping purposes. Death of primates, pigs and sheep should be reported to Post-op at 625-0904.
If RAR finds a dead animal, the investigator will be notified. The animal death is recorded on the cage card. The bag will be marked and placed in the "save" side of the cooler. Saved carcasses are held for 48 hours and are disposed of if not claimed by the investigator.
Please also refer to the Department of Environmental Health and Safety's Infectious Waste Disposal Chartfor carcass disposal procedures.

Special Services
All requests for special services must be arranged directly with RAR. Normally, housing and feeding requests are arranged with the area supervisor. Euthanasia is arranged with the Business Office as described above. Medical procedures are arranged with the area veterinary technician.

Identification
RAR can identify animals for investigators by tattooing, ear punching or ear tagging. This is billed as a veterinary special service. Animals must be anesthetized for tattooing.
Special diets
Special diets or watering requests can be provided by RAR. Charges for alternate nutritional diets are pro-rated with the cost of RAR's "standard" diet subtracted from the special diet cost and a 35% handling fee assessed. Research diets are not prorated. If investigators request a drug or compound be added to the drinking water investigators are billed the cost of the drug plus the technician's time in preparing the water.
When animals are on special diets or additives to the drinking water that are given by the research staff instead of RAR employees, the feed, water and supplies must be maintained on an ongoing basis. If animal cages are observed without sufficient supply of the special diet or water or if RAR cannot determine when the animals were last fed or watered, RAR employees will try to contact the research staff. If the research staff cannot be contacted within a reasonable amount of time, RAR employees will provide standard food and water to the animals.

Special husbandry
Investigators are billed for time and materials for special husbandry requests.
If investigators require their own room and a room is available they will be charged a minimum room charge equal to 60% of the per diems collected if the room were full.
Additional charges for cage sanitation are incurred if investigators require a higher than normal frequency of cage changing, use metabolic equipment or other specialized caging, or if the equipment being sanitized is not RAR's inventory. This is billed at the hourly rate listed above.
Fasting requests
RAR will fast animals prior to anesthesia if requested by investigators. There is no charge for this service. Investigators must post the room or cage with a fast request sign that indicates the animal ID, the investigator name and contact phone, the date and time the fast is to begin and the date the anesthesia will be performed. If anesthesia is not performed on the scheduled date, the animal must be give at least one meal before another fast request can be placed. Placing a fast sign on the cage is the responsibility of the group and must be placed the day before the procedure no later than 2 pm M-F. If the fasting sign is placed after 2 pm, it is the responsibility of the group to remove the remaining food from the cage.
Other Considerations

Fasting = removing food containers. Water is not removed unless specifically requested. Loose food in the bottom of nonhuman primate cages is not removed.

Large animals such as dogs, cats and nonhuman primates can be fasted no longer than 24 hours. The ideal pre-surgical fast is 5 to 8 hours long (i.e. overnight).

Neonates should never be fasted and juvenile animals (dogs and cats less than 4 months, pigs less than 2 months, monkeys less than 2 years) should not be fasted more than 4 hours.

Ruminants (sheep, goats, calves) may be fasted for 48 hours.

Rodents generally do not need to be fasted.

Fasts longer than 48 hours for ruminants or 24 hours for all other large animals must be approved by the IACUC.

If the animal is group housed, it must be separated for fasting, unless the fast is 12 hours or less (overnight).

Fast signs with incomplete information will NOT be honored. In fact, our staff is instructed to always feed and water animals unless complete and specific instructions for fasting are received.
Breeding
RAR can provide breeding services for investigators. This includes mating, weaning and separation of sibs. RAR will maintain breeding records as requested by the investigator and will follow whatever breeding scheme that is requested. Investigators are billed for the technician's time. Requests should be made to the area supervisor.
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The information contained in this site is intended as a reference for University of Minnesota investigators, and animal husbandry and veterinary staff. Drug information and dosages are derived from a variety of sources and do not necessarily guarantee safety or efficacy. Information obtained through this site should not be relied upon as professional veterinary advice. Any medications administered or procedures performed on animals should only be performed by or under order of a qualified, licensed veterinarian.