Ultrasonic Vocalization Analysis as a Novel Metric to Assess Cage Enrichment in Rats.

Laboratory rodent housing conditions vary significantly across laboratories and facilities. Variation in housing can be associated with animal stress leading to study variability and the subsequent inability to replicate experimental findings. Optimization and standardization of animal housing are necessary to promote animal welfare and data consistency, thereby reducing the number of animals necessary to detect treatment effects.

Fecal adrenal hormone patterns during ovulatory and non-ovulatory reproductive cycles in female veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus).

The relationship between the reproductive (hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal; HPG) and adrenal (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal; HPA) hormone axes is complex and can vary depending on the species and environmental factors affecting an individual. In an effort to understand this relationship in female veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus), the patterns of fecal metabolites of corticosterone (C), estradiol (E), testosterone (T), and progesterone (P) were analyzed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) during ovulatory (OC; eggs laid) and non-ovulatory cycles (NOC; no eggs laid). Glucocorticoid (GC) metabolites in the fecal extracts were characterized by HPLC and corticosterone EIA performance was assessed by parallelism, accuracy and precision tests.

Assessment of the reproductive status of female veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus) using hormonal, behavioural and physical traits.

Egg binding is a common reproductive disorder in captive female reptiles leading to premature loss of breeding potential, or in severe cases death. It can result from failure to ovulate (and reabsorb) follicles; follicular stasis, or failure to lay eggs; dystocia. Reproductive status of female veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus) in a research colony was assessed using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) of fecal reproductive hormones (estradiol; E2, progesterone; P, and testosterone; T) and their metabolites, ultrasound imaging of the reproductive tract, and receptivity to conspecific males.