Diet, bedding and environmental enrichment

Diets fed to laboratory animals have become standardised, so that that they meet the nutritional needs of the animal, and are also produced to a fixed “recipe” so that variation is minimised. Diets must be stored correctly to ensure that nutrient loss before use is minimised. Similarly, bedding of a standardised material should be provided and stored carefully. Both diet and bedding could be attractive to wild rodents and birds, and storage facilities must be designed to avoid the possibility of exposure of this type since this could result in the introduction of disease agents.