Rat - Jacket selection
In this article, you will find reference tables for selecting the appropriate jacket size for your rat-based DECRO study with accuracy. The tables provided pertain specifically to Wistar Han and Sprague Dawley rat’s strains. Contact us to get additional information for other strains on which the jacket may fit.
1. Rat jacket specification
Our
rat jackets are designed to fit on the morphology of subjects weighing between
220 and 600 grams, and are available in four different sizes.
They are
constructed from a soft, stretchy, and durable fabric that does not cause any
irritation or scratching. These jackets do not incorporate any hook
and loop bands, making them easy to put on and take off while ensuring a
comfortable fit for the rats
Finally, jackets are equipped with
plethysmography sensors directely integrated to the fabric and are designed to secure
the ECG electrodes on the animal.
2. Wistar Han jacket selection tables
A. Wistar Han male
B. Wistar Han female
C. Wistar Han growth curve
3. Spragues dawley jacket selection tables
A. Sprague dawley male
B. Sprague dawley female
C. Sprague dawley growth curve
4. Size checking
"How do I
know if the jacket is the right size for my rat?"
Generally
speaking, if the animal's weight is in the middle of the weight range for a jacket of a certain size,
there's little chance that the jacket won't fit the rat.
For example, a male Wistar rat weighing 330 g for a jacket size 1 [ 250 gr - 380 gr ]
But if the
animal's weight is between two sizes, here are a few tips to check whether
the jacket you've chosen is the right size:
For example, according to the weight chart, a 370g rat can correspond to a jacket size 1 and 2.
If an animal is between two sizes, you should prefer the smaller size so that the jacket can detect the deformation of the animal's trunk. Of course, this does not mean that the jacket should constrain the animal too much.
Please refer to the following tips to help you determine the jacket size.
When designing your longitudianl study, if you don't want to change jacket size longitudinally, be sure to anticipate variations in the weight of your animals to ensure that they correspond to the ranges of only one size.
One jacket size can cover approximately 4 to 5 weeks of study, depending on animal strain, age and housing conditions (growth curve and feed intake).
For example, a size 1 for a male wistar rat can cover approximately 250 to 380 grams, i.e. from the 8th to the 11th week of the animal's life (4 weeks).
A. Evaluating
a jacket that's too tight:
You'll see
that the jacket is too tight, especially when it comes to equip the animal.
This will be difficult, if not impossible. If you manage to equip the animal
with the jacket but still have doubts as to whether it will fit, try passing a
finger between the two shoulders and the jacket to check that the thoracic
bands are not compressing the animal too much.
The
finger should go through easily, and normally the fabric remains soft when you
stretch the jacket a little. If you find that you're having trouble getting
your finger through and that the fabric pressure is too great, remove the jacket.
The animal will be compressed.
B. Evaluation
of a jacket that's too large:
On the
other hand, a jacket that's too large won't stay on the animal for long after
it's been equipped. It's easy to put on and take off. Again, even if you manage
to fit the animal with a jacket that's too large, it will tend to move behind
both shoulder blades. If the jacket moves back even a little, the animal is
likely to put a paw on the outside and remove the whole device in the end.