Health Monitoring
1.Frequency
1.Animal health status must be monitored at least once daily, including weekends and holidays, no exceptions.
2.Animals with specific health problems, animals recovering from anesthesia, or animals on studies that have the potential for rapidly changing the animals’ condition (e.g. infectious disease, tumor induction, toxicity) may require more frequent monitoring.
2.Clinical Signs of Disease
1.Clinical signs of disease can be extremely variable depending on the species of animal and the condition being monitored.
2.Changes in behavior, food or water consumption, fecal or urine output, reduction in grooming behavior, aggression, muscular rigidity, hair coat, reaction to handling can be nonspecific signs of distress or disease.
3.More specific signs or objective measurements of organ dysfunction should be monitored if indicated by the animal’s condition or the expected impact of the experiment.
4.Further information is available from RAR.
3.Veterinary Care
1.All animals used for research, testing or teaching at the University of Minnesota must have an attending veterinarian available. If animals are not housed in RAR associated facilities, the veterinary oversight should be indicated on the protocol.
2.Veterinary care must be available on holidays and weekends as well as during work hours.
3.Research Animal Resources can provide veterinary consultation on request.