Spatial learning and memory differs between single and cohabitated guinea pigs
In socially-living animals, social enrichment enhances spatial learning and memory while separation from conspecifics can severely impair these abilities. In the present work, guinea pigs were kept in isolation or cohabitated in heterosexual pairs and then subjected to a labyrinth task. Latency-time to bait, error-rate, amount of movement and pre- and post-experimental cortisol (CORT) were […]
More than numbers matter: The effect of social factors on behaviour and welfare of laboratory rodents and non-human primates☆
With the development of laboratory animal science, increasing attention has been given to the possible influence of housing and husbandry on the behaviour and welfare of laboratory animals as well as on the scientific integrity. With the present paper, we aim to contribute to this knowledge by reviewing existing literature on how social factors influence […]
Social buffering of the cortisol response of adult female guinea pigs
When housed in spacious, mixed age/sex colonies, male guinea pigs form small harems of females with which attachment-like social bonds are established. A previous study indicated that the bonded male, but not an unfamiliar male from the same colony, could reduce the plasma cortisol response of a female when exposed to a novel environment. We […]
Prenatal stress does not impair coping with challenge later in life
This study investigated whether the effects of prenatal social stress are pathological consequences of an adverse environment; or whether mothers adjust their offspring to prevalent social conditions. As a prenatal stressor social instability was used: we studied male guinea pig offspring whose mothers lived in a stable social environment (SE-sons) or in an unstable social […]
Female influences on pair formation, reproduction and male stress responses in a monogamous cavy (Galea monasteriensis)
We examined the possible existence of, and female contributions to, pair bonds, as well as the relation of social preference to mating selectivity, in a recently identified wild guinea pig, the Muenster yellow-toothed cavy (Galea monasteriensis). In Experiment 1, females housed for ~ 20 days in an apparatus in which they could choose to approach and interact […]
Instituting Dark-Colored Cover to Improve Central Space Use Within Guinea Pig Enclosure
Domestic guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) in laboratories have been shown to actively avoid the centers of their cages. This experiment tested a novel, dark-colored ?shader? placed over the central portion of a cage. Based on the observed behavior of wild guinea pig species, it was hypothesized that utilization of the central portion of […]