JP2537028Y2 - Metabolic cage - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a metabolic cage for collecting urine from a small animal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Metabolic cages are used to collect urine from small animals such as rats and mice.

A conventional metabolic cage includes a cage body whose side is surrounded by a stainless steel plate and whose bottom is formed of a lattice or a net, and a urine collecting funnel arranged below the bottom. In normal times, animals are bred in dedicated breeding cages, and when urine is collected, they are transferred to the metabolic cages, and bred in the metabolic cages for a predetermined time to collect urine. Urine released from the animal is collected in a container through a funnel.

[0004] The reason for transferring to a metabolic cage every time urine is collected is that the conventional metabolic cage has a dark interior and is considerably different from a normal breeding environment.
This is because it is not appropriate to keep animals in the metabolic cage for a long time.

[0005]

However, when small animals are transferred to metabolic cages every time urine is collected, the stress of this transfer often causes the animals to be modulated.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the entire cage body is constituted by a net or a grid. However, in this case, the food falling from the vicinity of the feeder falls into the funnel, and the collected urine is contaminated. Would.

[0007]

The metabolic cage of the present invention comprises:
A metabolic cage having a cage main body in which an animal is housed and having a rectangular shape in plan view, a feeder provided on a side surface of the cage main body, and a urine collecting funnel arranged below the cage main body. In, the side and bottom surface of the cage body is formed of a lattice or a wire mesh, facing the feeder, providing a guide zone having a width that only the head of the animal can enter, of the bottom surface of the cage body other than the guide zone A metabolic cage in which the urine collection funnel is placed in an animal breeding area, wherein the mesh is
Is a lattice, the shape in plan view is a U-shaped part,
Hat having a pair of sleeves extending from both sides from the shape
A guide having a shape is disposed in the cage body, and
Hooking a hook provided on the guide to the cage body
Attach the guide to the cage body by
An opening for feeding is provided on a surface parallel to the sleeve portion of the sleeve.
The opening faces the feeder and the U-shaped
Parts are characterized in that which is said guide zone.

[0008]

The metabolic cage according to the present invention has a cage body as a whole made of wire mesh or lattice, and can breed animals in the same environment as a conventional breeding cage. Animals in metabolic cages should stick their heads into the guide zone when eating food. In this case, bait falling from near the feeder does not enter the funnel. Of course, all the urine released is collected by the funnel. In the present invention, the guide
Guides for forming zones are located in the cage body.
Attached to the cage body by hooks
Have been. Therefore, according to the physique of the animal,
Guides of appropriate width can be attached to the cage body
You. And this will only replace the guide
Always ensures that only the animal's head enters the guide zone
It is possible to do. This guide is by hook
It is attached to the cage body, and guide replacement is
It's easy.

[0009]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a metabolic cage according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a guide, and FIG. 3 is an overall vertical view of the metabolic cage.

The cage body 12 of the metabolic cage 10
It has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a feeder 14 on one side.
Is attached. A guide 16 is provided so as to face the feeder 14. This guide 16
Is for the whole consisting of wire mesh or grid as a pair of left and right sleeves 17, 18 had a U-shaped portion 20 connecting the sleeve portion 17, 18 comrades, the plan view shape is hat-shaped
It has become. Sleeve portion 1 of this U-shaped portion 20
An opening 22 is provided in a plane parallel to 7 and 18 so that the animal can collect food in the feeder 14. The width a of the U-shaped portion 20 is selected so that only the head of an animal (for example, a rat or a mouse) to be bred can enter. In the case of a normal rat of about 18 weeks of age, the width a of the frontage is preferably about 7 cm. Reference numeral 24 denotes a hook for attaching the guide 16 to the cage body 12.

The cage body 12 is made of a wire mesh or lattice as a whole, and a funnel 26 is installed on the bottom of the animal breeding area on the opposite side of the feeder 14 with the guide 16 interposed therebetween. The beaker 30 is configured to collect urine. Reference numeral 32 in FIG. 3 denotes a water supply device.

In the metabolic cage 10 configured as described above, the illumination and ventilation inside the cage main body 12 are the same as those of the conventional breeding cage, and the animals can be bred under the same environment as the breeding cage. When an animal in the cage body 12 eats food, only its head is inserted into the guide zone 34 sandwiched between the U-shaped portions 20 of the guide 16. Therefore, the food falling from the vicinity of the feeder 14 at the time of feeding does not fall into the funnel 26, and the collected urine is not contaminated at all. Of course, the entire amount of urine released from the animal falls into the funnel 26 and is collected.

In the above embodiment, since the guide 16 can be attached to and detached from the cage body 12, the above-mentioned dimension a can be adjusted according to the size of the animal.
Different guides 16 can be attached.

[0014]

[Effect of the invention] As described above, in the metabolic cage of the invention,
Urine can be collected without food contamination. In addition, according to the metabolism cage of the present invention, animals are bred in a normal breeding environment,
Urine can be collected without giving stress to the animal due to transfer or the like. Further, it is possible to omit the trouble of transferring the animals, and it is also possible to prevent mistakes in baiting due to the transfer of the animals.

According to the metabolic cage of the present invention, the physique of the animal
Even if the width of the U-shaped part is different,
This ensures that only the animal's head is
And urine can be collected. This guy
Exchange of de also Ru extremely easy der.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a metabolic cage according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a guide.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a metabolism cage.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 metabolic cage 12 cage body 14 feeder 16 guide 17, 18 sleeve 26 funnel 34 guide zone

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masahiko Watanabe 3586 Yoshihara, Ami-cho, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki Pref.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A plan view shape in which an animal is housed inside is long.
In a metabolic cage having a rectangular cage main body, a feeder provided on a side surface of the cage main body, and a urine collection funnel arranged on a lower side of the cage main body, a side or a bottom surface of the cage main body has a lattice or A metabolism comprising a wire mesh, facing the feeder, having a guide zone having a width in which only the head of the animal can enter, and disposing the urine collection funnel in an animal breeding area other than the guide zone on the bottom surface of the cage body. A cage, which is made of a wire mesh or lattice, and has a U-shaped portion in plan view shape,
And a pair of sleeves extending to both sides from the U-shaped portion.
A hat-shaped guide is placed in the cage body
And hook the hook provided on the guide to the cage body.
The guide is attached to the cage body by means of an opening for feeding on the surface of the U-shaped portion parallel to the sleeve.
Wherein the opening faces the feeder, and the U-shaped portion serves as the guide zone .