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The Early Ontogeny of Bar-Gnawing in Laboratory Gerbils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

C Wiedenmayer
C Wiedenmayer*
Affiliation:
Department of Ethology, Zoological Institute, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
*
Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: Developmental Psychobiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 722 W 168th Street Box 40, New York, NY 10032, USA
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Abstract

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The early development of bar-gnawing was studied in young gerbils kept in standard laboratory cages. Bar-gnawing was performed on the bars of the cage lid and developed shortly after eye-opening at an age of 18 days. It increased in bout length and duration with age and there was considerable variability in behaviour between individuals. It is discussed as to whether bar-gnawing is a stereotypy and in which behavioural context it develops.

Keywords

animal welfarebar-gnawingdevelopmentgerbilhousing
Type
Short Communication
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , August 1997 , pp. 273 - 277
Copyright
© 1997 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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