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Current practices in a captive breeding colony of 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

Lab Animal volume 41, pages 315–325 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

The authors provide an update to their 2006 report on the successful large-scale captive breeding of the 13-lined ground squirrel (TLGS; Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) in their colony, now a single-source supplier of purpose-bred TLGSs for several research institutions. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, the authors have expanded their capacity for breeding pairs and built a dedicated hibernaculum to house torpid animals in the facility. The authors report new information on housing, diet, environmental enrichment, breeding, behavior and health. They also report the findings of several in-house studies on the health, behavior and well-being of their TLGSs.

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Figure 1: Housing configurations.
Figure 2: Ground squirrel pups in the colony.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Office of Grants and Faculty Development for their support during the establishment of the squirrel colony. Major colony improvements were funded by NIH-NCRR Animal Facility Improvement Program. We also thank Matthew Rubin, Timothy Anderson and George Weir for their collective 5 years of diligent care and timely observations, many of which contributed to our current colony best practices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI

    Dana K. Merriman,  Michelle Jooss,  Jon A. Gesicki &  Kelly Schill

  2. Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR

    Garet Lahvis

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  1. Dana K. Merriman
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  2. Garet Lahvis
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Correspondence to Dana K. Merriman.

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Merriman, D., Lahvis, G., Jooss, M. et al. Current practices in a captive breeding colony of 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). Lab Anim 41, 315–325 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.150

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