Assessment of animal welfare based on the level of ammonia in the microenvironment of Swiss Webster mice in a house facility
Vigil Sanit Debate, Rio de Janeiro, 2025, v.13: e02356 | Published on: 04/12/2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22239/2317-269X.02356Keywords:
Mice, Microenvironment, Animal Experimentation, Ammonia, Animal WelfareAbstract
Introduction: Mice (Mus musculus) are one of the most used species for teaching and scientific purposes, which has characteristics that make it suitable for use in scientific research: body size, ease of handling, prolificacy, short life cycle, in addition to similarity biological and genetic, which brings it 70% to 90% closer to humans, in addition to having an accurate sense of smell, as its olfactory bulb is proportionally large when compared to the brain. Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of the relationship between the periodicity of “cage exchange” and the wood shavings or pine flakes floor/bedding used, and to determine the quality of the microenvironment and its direct impact on the animal welfare of mice kept in an experimental house facility of conventional sanitary status. Method: This article evaluated the air quality in the microenvironment of mice through the level of ammonia concentration, the Ammonia Absorption Efficiency by Floors/Beds when changing boxes and the Reactive Oxygen Species Test (ROS). Results: They indicated that microenvironments with four adult male or female individuals reach high concentrations of ammonia, although lower than 25 ppm (standard value), in both types of floor/bed, as well as changing the boxes once /week, it was unsuitable for the maintenance of individuals, already in the 5th week of life, which can infer that the frequency of changing twice/week does not induce discomfort or stress in the house facilities on the Maravalha floor/bed. Conclusions: Ammonia concentration values are directly influenced by the type of floor/bed and the frequency of cage exchange.
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Author Biographies
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Miguel Ângelo Brück Gonçalves, Centro de Experimentação Animal, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
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Valdeci de Souza Pessanha, Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
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Gabriel Melo de Oliveira, Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
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Octávio Augusto França Presgrave, Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em Biomodelos, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
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