Howtokeeptrackofyourmice.
Breedingmicecanbeverychallenging,particularlywhenyouhavetobreedcomplexgenotypes.Youneedawaytoidentifythemicepermanentlyandawaytorecordbirth,genotypes,datetotail,mark,wean,separateandmate.ToeClippingisamethodthatinvolvesanumericalschemeinwhichthefirstboneofcertaintoesisremovedwithasharpinstrument.InmiceitisnotpracticalduetothesmallsizeofthetoesanddifficultyinreADIngthecode.Asamethodofidentificationofsmallrodents,itshouldbeusedonlywhennootherindividualidentificationmethodisfeasIBLe(tattooing,eartags,orsubcutaneousimplantationofatransponderidentificationchip)andshouldbeperformedonlyonaltricialneonates,7-10dayspostpartum(1996).Intheeventtoeclippinghastobeundertakenonotherthanneonatalrodentmodels,theprincipalinvestigatormustprovideastrongscientificreasonforusingthistechniqueintheexperiment.TheproceduremustbedoneonananesthetizedanimalandapprovedbytheInstitutionalAnimalCareandUseCommittee.GuidefortheCareandUseofLaboratoryAnimals.(NationalAcademyPress,Washington,D.C.,1996).MicrosoftExcelsheetscanbeusedtorecordmousedatasuchasbirthdate,andtoalertonscheduleddateoftoeing,weaning,separatingthesexesetc.Herearetwofileswithexamplesthatcanbedownloadedandusedasatemplateorcopy.Youneedagoodknowledgeoftheprogramtomakemajoralterations,andamoderatelygoodcomputerskilltouseit.Thetwofilesare:afiletokeeptrackofthebreedingsandofthelittersproduced.(download)afiletokeeptrackofthesinglemiceofeachline.(download)
Thefirstfileiscomposedoftwoparts,exemplifiedherebelow.Toppart:matings.Inyellowautomaticfieldscalculatingdate,expectedDOBandproximityofbirth(±10days:arrow<-).
Bottompart:litters,sequentiallynumbered.Inyellowautomaticfieldscalculatingage(days,weeks),deadlinesfortoeclipping,tailing,weaning,sexseparation,phenotypicanalysisofPBetc.
