Laboratory Animal Handling
Kent Scientific’s animal handling products offer a variety devices to safely immobilize mice, rats and other small animals for research applications. Learn more about animal handling...
About Laboratory Animal Handling
There are several different methods of animal handling. It is important to note that improper handling causes distress and/or pain. Minimal animal handling should be the research objective. Different animals require specific methods of handling.
Physical Restraint
Physical restraint is the use of manual or mechanical means to limit some or all of an animal’s movements for the purpose of examination, collection of samples, drug administration, therapy and experimental manipulation. Animals are restrained for brief periods, usually minutes, in most research applications. Restraint devices should be suitable in size, design, and operation to minimize discomfort and injury to the animal. Restraint devices are never permanent animal housing.
Short Term Restraint
Short term restraint of laboratory animals involve animal confinement in a standard restraining device, appropriate for the species, for brief periods. Purposes include drawing blood, giving injections and examining the animal.
Prolonged Restraint
If prolonged physical restraint is required, animals should be conditioned over a period of gradually increasing time. Certain experiments, such as NIBP measurements, require animal conditioning to reduce the level of stress thereby obtaining optimal readings.
Note: For the comfort and safety of the animal, certain kinds of restraint equipment, such as jackets or harnesses, should be periodically monitored for proper fit. Animals in chairs and slings require closer monitoring than those restrained by tethering jackets or harnesses. Kent Scientific offers a wide variety of animal restraint devices.