Positive Reinforcement Conditioning as a Tool for Frequent Minimally Invasive Blood and Vaginal Swab Sampling in African Lions (Panthera Leo)
Information regarding the physiology of African lions is scarce, mainly due to challenges associated with essential routine research procedures. The aim of this experiment was to test the possibility of training six captive lionesses by positive reinforcement conditioning (PRC) to voluntarily allow the collection of vaginal swabs and blood samples. This was done with the […]
Working With Rather Than Against Macaques During Blood Collection
Training macaques to cooperate during blood collection is a practicable and safe alternative to the traditional procedure implying forced restraint. It takes a cumulative total of about 1 hr to train an adult female or adult male rhesus macaque successfully to present a leg voluntarily and accept venipuncture in the homecage. Cooperative animals do not […]
Training to reliably obtain blood and urine samples from a diabetic chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:63.3.CO;2-P Positive reinforcement training techniques were used to gain the cooperation of a socially housed, 3-year-old, insulin-dependent diabetic chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) in obtaining blood and urine samples for monitoring of glucose levels. A urine collection device, adaptable to many types of caging, allowed collection of urine from the diabetic subject as well as other […]
A new voluntary blood collection method for the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
Various training methods have been developed for animal husbandry and health care in zoos and one of these trainings is blood collection. One training method, recently widely used for blood collection in Ursidae, requires setting up a sleeve outside the cage and gives access to limited blood collection sites. A new voluntary blood collection method […]