EFEITOS DO ENRIQUECIMENTO AMBIENTAL NA MATERNIDADE SOBRE O BEM-ESTAR DE CAMUNDONGOS CRIADOS EM BIOTÉRIO (Effects of environmental enrichment on motherhood on the welfare of mice bred in vivarium)

The present study aimed to assess the effects of environmental enrichment (EA) on the welfare of mice in maternity of a vivarium. For this, Swiss mice of the maternity of the Positivo University vivarium were separated randomly into two groups of six females each, one group with enrichment (CE), consisting of paper for making the nest, and another group without enrichment (SE); two females were placed in each box. The behaviors evaluated were exploratory (EXP), agonistic (AGO), self-care (CUI), interaction with enrichment (IE), interaction with pups (IF), interaction between mothers (IM) and food (ALI), compared in general and throughout nine days of filming. Regarding the general comparison, the AGO behavior was lower in the CE group (P = 0.047); however, the median was equal to 0% for both groups. Throughout the days, the behaviors EXP, IF, and ALI in both groups showed differences (P 0.05), meaning that in CE, CUI and IM occurred in a more continuous way. Still in the CE group, there was variation (P 0.05), indicating that AGO did not vary throughout the days. We conclude that EA improves the interaction between animals, decreasing agonistic behaviors and encouraging the natural nesting behavior. Due to the positive impact, most studies on ways to EA for mice are relevant

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