2018/04/27 by Gonçalo Pinheiro, Diogo Filipe Cabrita Prata, Diogo Filipe Prata +4 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Psychology · Environmental Science · #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior #Physiological and biochemical adaptations
paper · doi:10.1177/0023677218769921
The African spiny mouse ( Acomys spp.) is an emerging animal model with remarkable biological characteristics that make it a subject of interest for a broad range of research fields. Typically a desert species adapted to a low-calorie diet, spiny mice develop diabetes-related symptoms when switched to high-energy diets. Spiny mice undergo relatively long gestation periods and have small litters of highly developed pups, making them an adequate model for late organogenesis and perinatal biology. Recently, they have been shown to have remarkable healing and regeneration capabilities, which make them unique among mammals. In this work, we describe our experience in housing a colony of African spiny mice and cover all basic aspects of feeding, maintenance and breeding for research purposes.