Skip to main content
Home / Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Volume 50, Number 6

Open Access Manzanita Wood: A Sanitizable Enrichment Option for Nonhuman Primates

Download Article:
Wooden objects are often used as nonhuman primate enrichment to provide variety and novelty, promote exploratory behavior, and supply an outlet for curiosity. However, concerns have been raised regarding the ability to sanitize wood by using conventional cage-wash procedures. To address this concern, we examined sanitation outcomes between soiled plastic toys and manzanita wooden manipulanda immediately after a cage-wash cycle. Both an ATP luminometer device, which is capable of providing an immediate assessment of sanitation levels, and traditional bacterial culture were used, with the secondary goal of comparing these methods for sanitation monitoring. Results showed that the wooden objects did not differ from plastic toys with respect to the overall efficacy of cage-wash sanitization. Therefore, manzanita wood can be used as nonhuman primate enrichment without risking pathogen transmission when items are rotated among animals.

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Division of Veterinary Medicine, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, Louisiana, USA. [email protected] 2: Division of Veterinary Medicine, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, Louisiana, USA

Publication date: 01 November 2011

More about this publication?

  • The Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS) serves as an official communication vehicle for the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS). The journal includes a section of refereed articles and a section of AALAS association news. The mission of the refereed section of the journal is to disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed information on animal biology, technology, facility operations, management, and compliance as relevant to the AALAS membership. JAALAS accepts research reports (data-based) or scholarly reports (literature-based), with the caveat that all articles, including solicited manuscripts, must include appropriate references and must undergo peer review.

    Attention Members: To access the full text of the articles, be sure you are logged in to the AALAS website.

    Attention: please note, due to a temporary technical problem, reference linking within the content is not available at this time

  • Editorial Board
  • Information for Authors
  • Submit a Paper
  • Subscribe to this Title
  • Membership Information
  • Information for Advertisers
  • For issues prior to 1997
  • Institutional Subscription Activation
  • Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Share Content

  • Access Key
  • Free content
  • Partial Free content
  • New content
  • Open access content
  • Partial Open access content
  • Subscribed content
  • Partial Subscribed content
  • Free trial content