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Reproductive characteristics of a captive colony of big-eared climbing rats (Ototylomys phyllotis)

Lab Animal volume 40, pages 246–251 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

The authors analyzed the breeding characteristics of a colony of Ototylomys phyllotis (big-eared climbing rat) from Campeche, México, that was bred in captivity for 6 y. The big-eared climbing rat is a reservoir of Leishmania (Leishmania) mexicana, a causal agent of localized cutaneous leishmaniasis on the Yucatán Peninsula. The colony had been established to facilitate studies analyzing the effectiveness of O. phyllotis as an experimental model for L. (L.) mexicana. The authors describe the housing and husbandry of the colony, the procedures used for mating the animals and the behavior of the animals during mating. They report that the animals showed social behavior and could be bred successfully. Most breeding pairs successfully produced litters; some pairs produced more than one litter. The authors also report data for other parameters, such as the interval between pairing and birth or between births of consecutive litters, litter size, survival to weaning, the timing of sexual maturity and the effects of breeder age on breeding success.

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Figure 1: A family of big-eared climbing rats, O. phyllotis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales of the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán for the use and administration of the animal care facility and Dr. Ian Dennis for editing the manuscript. This study was supported by a grant from the INDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Tropical Diseases Research (RCS/TDR/WHO 90024) and a grant of the World Health Organization (RC/TDR/WHO ID-900248e).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciencias Veterinarias, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México

    Mateo F. Itzá-Ortiz

  2. Laboratorio de Inmunología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México

    Nicole R. Van Wynsberghe,  Erika I. Sosa-Bibiano &  Fernando J. Andrade-Narváez

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  1. Mateo F. Itzá-Ortiz
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  2. Nicole R. Van Wynsberghe
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  3. Erika I. Sosa-Bibiano
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  4. Fernando J. Andrade-Narváez
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Correspondence to Nicole R. Van Wynsberghe.

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Itzá-Ortiz, M., Van Wynsberghe, N., Sosa-Bibiano, E. et al. Reproductive characteristics of a captive colony of big-eared climbing rats (Ototylomys phyllotis). Lab Anim 40, 246–251 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0811-246

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