Nutrient Requirements of the Mouse Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals NCBI Bookshelf
The number of individual stocks and strains of mice available for use in research is estimated to be near 500. In addition, there are numerous recently developed transgenic mouse strains; the exact number is not readily available, but estimates are as high as 20,000 strains. With this amount of genetic diversity within a mammalian species the probability is high that there would be differences in nutrient requirements among the different stocks and strains. Even though a small percentage of the existing stocks and strains of laboratory mice have been used in nutritional research, discussions of individual nutrients in this chapter indicate that mouse stocks or strains differ in their requirements for various nutrients. Signs of Biotin Deficiency Watanabe and Endo (1989, 1991) observed teratogenic effects of biotin deficiency in mice fed a spray-dried egg white diet (containing avidin).
A level of 0.3 percent arginine should meet the requirements of mice with a growth potential of 1 g/day. The requirement for L-histidine is 0.2 percent of the diet for mice gaining more than 1 g/day (John and Bell, 1976). Olejer et al. (1982) showed that 0.1 percent would meet the needs of C57BL/6 mice growing 0.4 g/day but that 0.2 percent was required for CD-1 mice, which grew 0.7 g/day. L-carnosine at 0.29 percent can replace 0.2 percent L-histidine (Olejer et al., 1982). Parker et al. (1985) showed that deletion of L-histidine from the amino acid mixture resulted in weight loss and that the single-test concentration of 0.33 percent L-histidine met the needs of Swiss-Webster mice gaining 0.3 g/day.
Not only that, but it uses the defensive toxins of these arachnids as an analgesic to alleviate the pain produced by other injuries during attacks. Despite its predilection for plant matter, these mice are considered omnivores. In the human environment, they’ll eat anything palatable they can get their mouths on, including glue and soap. Neither do they turn their snouts up at dead meat, carbohydrate-rich products, sugary sweets, cockroaches, and other insects both dead and alive. A mouse’s food choices depend on age, species and the environment they inhabit. Here we’ll tell you about the diet of some of the standard-bearers of this group of rodents.
Now that we’ve discussed the problems rodents can cause let’s delve into some effective methods to evict these unwelcome guests from your home. Rodents should not eat chocolate because it contains a substance called theobromine, which can be toxic to them in large quantities. Theobromine is a natural compound found in cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate products. I think the major problem is due to the fact that rats were the carriers of flees infected with the bacteria that caused the Bubonic Plague. However, this is only a rare occurrence and only when food is not to be found at all.
The requirement for L-arginine is suggested to be less than 0.1 percent for mice gaining 0.8 g/day (Bell and John, 1981) and less than 0.3 percent for mice gaining 0.9 g/day (John and Bell, 1976). Milner et al. (1975) report evidence of arginine deficiency in BFDSCH mice that gained 0.4 g/day when fed a diet devoid of L-arginine. Bauer and Berg (1943) found that arginine could be deleted from the DL-amino acid diet of mice gaining 0.11 g/day.
Pregnant mice fed diets containing 2,000 mg Cu/kg diet throughout gestation did not carry litters to term; when the high-copper diet was restricted to days 7 to 12 of gestation, the resorption frequency was higher than 50 percent and surviving fetuses were normal. The diet’s toxicity to embryos was apparently caused by an indirect effect of reduced food intake rather than by a direct effect of excess copper on the fetus (Keen et al., 1982). However, Yuen and Draper (1983) observed that calcium concentrations in the kidneys of B6D2F1 mice more than doubled when dietary phosphorus was increased from 3.0 g P/kg to 12.0 g P/kg and protein was held constant at 15 percent of the diet. This suggests that excess dietary phosphorus has the same negative effects in mice as in rats; and as regards calcium, there is no evidence to indicate that the requirements for calcium are greater for mice than rats. Therefore, the 5.0 g Ca/kg diet and 3.0 g P/kg diet estimated as the requirements for the rat are also the estimated requirements for the mouse. Limiting dietary phosphorus to 3.0 g P/kg appears to promote bone calcification in mice.
Finally, you can reach out to a pest control services company for professional support with eliminating the mice and rats in your home. Although their diet consists of 10-25% vegetables and seeds, this rodent is a fierce predator, hunting scorpions, grasshoppers, beetles, lizards and even other mice. Adults often resort to cannibalism and kill members of their own species when food is scarce. For example, mice and rats are known to eat a wide variety of plant matter, including seeds, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Squirrels are also known to eat a variety of plant material, including nuts, seeds, fruits, and tree bark. In fact, squirrels are known to damage trees by stripping the bark, which can harm the health of the tree.
In addition to this, they don’t pass up the opportunity when they encounter insects and other invertebrates (such as slugs). Insectivorous feeding is especially important during spring and early summer, when seeds are scarce. Beyond this taxon, it should be noted that many other groups contain species of mice. The family Cricetidae also includes several rodents which are similar in appearance to the house mouse, such as Podomys floridanus, Ochrotomys nuttalli and Peromyscus boylii. In addition to this, representatives of the genus Apodemus are known as field mice.
In a study published by Front Syst Neurosci, scientists discovered that mice have neural mechanisms that allow for adaptive decision-making. Unfortunately, this is partly why those in the rodent kingdom are such common pests in households. In addition to varying the mouse’s diet, it’s recommended to hide some of its Check this for What do birds eat food in nooks and crannies and high areas of the cage in order to exercise its natural foraging behavior. Don’t forget that it’s an animal with a strong instinctive component and requires constant environmental enrichment. This ferocious rodent is capable of killing its prey with an accurate bite to the head.
Bull et al. (1976) report that female rodents appear to have a lower maintenance energy requirement than males. Based on their observations it is estimated that the daily ME requirement for maintenance is 160 kcal/BWkg0.75/day (670 kJ ME/BWkg0.75/day) in mice that have no obvious genetic or stress-induced abnormalities or pathologies. A diet containing 3.9 kcal ME/g (16.2 kJ ME/g) should meet this requirement. Troelson and Bell (1963) found that mice consumed an average of 3.5 g diet/day during 14 days postweaning. The metabolizable energy (ME) content was estimated to be 3.9 kcal/g diet (16.2 kJ/g diet).
This group includes animals like mice, rats, squirrels, beavers, and more, all of which display an astounding level of adaptability, enabling them to thrive in diverse environments across the globe. By delving into the dietary habits of rodents, we can gain valuable insights into their behavior, survival strategies, and the intricate roles they play within their ecosystems. Cane rats (Thryonomys swinderianus), which naturally occur across West and Central Africa, are large animals that can grow up to 60 cm in length and weigh up to 10 kg. They are already hunted as bush meat or even domesticated as farm animals in Benin, Togo, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and other countries (Figs (Figs11 and and2).2).
For chef Pocho Garcés, owner of the restaurant “Aguacero” in the Venezuelan island of Margarita, consumption of rodent meat is deeply embedded in Venezuelan culture and society, dating back to the times of the Spanish conquest. “The Chigüire was eaten during holy seasons, as Catholics did not eat beef in those dates. It was probably consumed instead of fish during Easter, due to its aquatic habit, spending most of the day submerged in the many of the ponds in the Venezuelan Llanos”, he said. Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) or Chigüire were likely domesticated in Brazil even before the arrival of Europeans. In Venezuela, the capybara, a massive rodent that can weigh up to 80 kg, is raised on ranches, which produce about 85,000 animals each year.
These results suggest that diets which support maximal growth are not optimal for reproduction. Therefore, for the mouse diet, the meaning of the term “adequate” may need to be expanded to indicate a range of nutrient intakes between minimal and harmfully excessive; the range will vary at different stages of the life cycle. Nutrition investigators generally focus on nutrient requirements as minimal dietary concentrations. For life-span studies with mice, however, optimum dietary concentrations of energy and nutrients may have to be established. Although many studies have been conducted on the effects of diet on longevity, there are insufficient published data to estimate the nutrient requirements for long-term maintenance of mice. The requirement for protein to support maximal growth or reproduction depends on the content and digestibility of the amino acids in the diet and the growth and reproductive potential of the mice in question (Keith and Bell, 1988).
Every year, on March 7, they celebrate Unying‐Aran, a popular hunting festival where the most precious prey are rats. Signs of Choline Toxicity Choline is a very toxic nutrient with a narrow margin of safety. Williams (1960) observed that a dietary concentration of 5 g choline chloride/kg diet (35,800 µmol/kg) induced weight loss in BALB/c mice after they were fed that diet for 6 months, and there were no survivors after 9 months. After 15 weeks 52 percent of the mice had myocardial lesions and by 33 weeks 100 percent of the mice had myocardial lesions. The lesions were most frequently fibrosis with limited necrosis of muscle fibers and fibroid necrosis of coronary arteries (Thomas et al., 1968).
