Nutritional Management of Rat and Mice
Dr.Ramesh Verma, Dr.Monika karnani, Dr.Ankit Sharma
Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education and Research,Agra road,Jamdoli,Jaipur
Nutritional requirements of Rat
Introduction
Because of its moderate size, high reproductive potential (females produce 1–12 litters per year), and tolerance to a variety of settings, including diets, the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) is the most used experimental model for biological study. Additionally, rats are used as a source of biological components (cells, antibodies, serum etc.)
The rat consumes a wide range of seeds, grains, and other plant materials since it is omnivorous.
Both glandular and non-glandular zones can be found in its stomach.
Nutrient Requirements
Rats’ nutritional needs vary depending on their stage of development, level of reproduction, age, sex, and strain. They are fed according to their dietary needs, which are 15, 15, 20, and 30 to 40 grams per day for maintenance, pregnancy, and lactation, respectively.
Energy
It has been suggested to consume a purified diet with 3.8–4.1 kcal ME/gm. A rat’s energy needs are influenced by temperature, age, and activity.
Maintenance – Adult rats need 114 kcal/kgW0.75 of calories per day for upkeep.
Growth
Males grow at a faster rate than females do. After weaning at 21 days postpartum, the minimal average daily calorie need is 227 kcal/kgW0.75 for the subsequent four weeks of growth.
Gestation and Lactation
In early gestation, the daily metabolic energy requirement of the rat is approximately 143 kcal/kgW0.75. During the later stages of pregnancy, this could rise to 265 kcal/kgW0.75. During the height of lactation, the dam needs roughly 311 kcal/kgW0.75 of ME per day to support lactation, albeit the amount depends on the size of the litter.
Protein
Three factors determine the protein needs at different phases of life: (1) Dietary energy content, (2) Protein amino acid composition, and (3) Amino acid bioavailability.
Maintenance
7 percent crude protein have been recommended. The protein requirement declines with age after weaning.
Growth and reproduction
Protein requirement for growing rats is 12% in diet, if the protein used is highly digestible with balanced amino acid profile. In practice, diets having 18 to 25% CP have supported higher post-weaning growth rate.
Fibre
Rats digestion of fibre in the hind intestine determines its energy content. Rats can absorb and utilise the volatile fatty acids produced by the microbial fermentation of fibre, which are primarily acetate, propionate, and butyrate.
Nutrient requirements of Rat (per kg diet)
| Nutrient | Maintenance | Growth | Reproduction |
| Fat (gm) | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Linoleic acid (gm ) | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Protein (gm ) | 50 | 150 | 150 |
| Methionine (gm) | 2.3 | 9.8 | 9.8 |
| Calcium (gm ) | 5 | 5 | 6.3 |
| Phosphorus (gm ) | 3 | 3 | 3.7 |
| Vitamin D (mg ) | 0.025 | 0.025 | 0.025 |
Model Diet of Rat
| Nutrients | %/gm | Nutrients | %/gm |
| Carbohydrates | 43 | Carbohydrates | 48.0 |
| Protein | 17 | Protein | 21 |
| Fat | 40 | Fat | 3 |
| Powdered feed | 68 | Calcium | 0.8 |
| Maize oil | 6.0 | Phosphorus | 0.4 |
| Ghee | 6.0 | Fibre | 5 |
| Milk powder | 20.0 | Moisture | 13 |
| Total energy (kcal/100gm) | 414.0 | Total energy (kcal/100gm) | 306.2 |
Nutritional requirements of mouse
Because of their high fertility rate, brief gestation period, small size, ease of maintenance, susceptibility to various infectious agents or resistance to them, and susceptibility to non-infectious or genetic diseases that affect humans, mice (Mus musculus) have been used extensively as animal models for biomedical research. Mice are omnivorous and can eat a wide variety of seeds, grains and other plant materials.
Nutrient requirements
| Nutrient | Quantity ( per kg diet ) |
| Fat ( gm ) | 50 |
| Linoleic acid ( gm ) | 6.8 |
| Protein ( gm ) | 180 |
| Calcium ( gm ) | 5.0 |
| Magnesium ( gm ) | 0.5 |
| Phosphorus ( gm ) | 3.0 |
| Potassium ( gm ) | 2.0 |
| Sodium ( gm ) | 0.5 |
| Copper ( mg ) | 6.0 |
| Iron ( mg ) | 35 |
| Zinc ( mg ) | 10 |
| Selenium (microgram ) | 150 |
Energy
According to NRC (1995), mice require 160 kcal/kgW0.75 of ME daily for upkeep. To reach this need, a diet offering 3.9 kcal ME/gm is acceptable. Growing mice (21-42d) need 263 kcal ME/kgW0.75 of energy. The amount of energy needed during the third trimester of pregnancy is as high as 358.5 Kcal ME/kgW0.75.
Fat
Essential fatty acids must be provided to mice through lipids. It improves diet acceptance and aids in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. For mice, linoleic and n-3 fatty acids are also crucial. Knapka recommended that the amount of fat in a mouse’s diet be kept to less than 10–11%.
Carbohydrate
A fibre source is frequently added to mice’s meals to enhance bulk, but at excessive quantities, it may impair performance.
Protein
The amount and digestibility of amino acids in the diet affect the amount of protein needed. 18% crude protein in the diet can support growth rates of more than 1 g/day.
For rats and mice, pellet type of food is recommended. It is advised to use a binder material like maida at a level of 5% instead of some corn starch.
Composition of purified diet for rats and mice
| Ingredient | Amount ( g/kg ) |
| Sucrose | 500.0 |
| Casein | 200.0 |
| Corn starch | 150.0 |
| Corn oil | 50.0 |
| Fibre source | 50.0 |
| Mineral mixture | 35.0 |
| Vitamin mixture | 10.0 |
Composition of mineral premix for purified diet
| Ingredients | Amount ( g/kg ) |
| Calcium phosphate, diabasic | 500.00 |
| Potassium citrate, monohydrate | 220.00 |
| Sodium chloride | 74.00 |
| Potassium sulphate | 52.00 |
| Magnesium oxide | 24.00 |
| Ferric citrate ( 16-17%) | 6.00 |
| Manganous carbonate (43-48%) | 3.50 |
| Zinc carbonate ( 70% Zn ) | 1.60 |
| Chromium potassium sulphate | 0.55 |
| Cupric carbonate | 0.30 |
| Potassium Iodate | 0.01 |
| Sodium Selenite | 0.01 |
| Sucrose, finely powered | 118.03 |
Composition of vitamin premix for purified diet
| Ingredients | Amount (g/gm) |
| Nicotinic acid or nicotinamide | 3.000 |
| Calcium d-pantothenate | 1.600 |
| Pyridoxine-HCL | 0.700 |
| Thiamin-HCL | 0.600 |
| Riboflavin | 0.600 |
| Folic acid | 0.200 |
| d-Biotin | 0.020 |
| Cyanocobalamine | 0.001 |
| Vitamin A | 400,000 IU |
| Vitamin E | 5,000 IU |
| Vitamin D | 0.0025 |
References-
Nutrient requirements of Companion ,Laboratory and Captive wild animals.(ICAR )
