Environmental enrichment of caged animals
First Claim
1. At least one of a cage and an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the at least one of the cage and the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein said coloured material transmits less that 20% of visible light with a wavelength of less than 540 nm.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cage or an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent comprises a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent. The cage or item of cage furniture typically comprises, and is desirably substantially or entirely formed from, a red-coloured or red-tinted material, e.g. a synthetic plastics material. The coloured material preferably transmits less than 20% of visible light with a wavelength of less than 540 nm. The plastics material is preferably resistant to repeated autoclaving and conveniently comprises at least one of polyester, polysulfone, polytheramide and polycarbonate. Also a method of making such a cage or item of cage furniture.
37 Citations
15 Claims
- 1. At least one of a cage and an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the at least one of the cage and the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein said coloured material transmits less that 20% of visible light with a wavelength of less than 540 nm.
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2. At least one of a cage and an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the at least one of the cage and the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein said coloured material transmits less than 20% of visible light with a wavelength of less than 560 nm.
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3. At least one of a cage and an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the at least one of the cage and the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein said coloured material transmits less than 20% of visible light with a wavelength of less than 580 nm.
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4. At least one of a cage and an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the at least one of the cage and the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein said coloured material transmits at least 60% of visible light with a wavelength of 600 nm or more.
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5. At least one of a cage and an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the at least one of the cage and the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein said coloured material transmits, on average, at least 20% of light with a wavelength in the range 580–
- 590 nm.
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15. A cage including an item of cage furniture for use by a caged rodent, the item of cage furniture comprising a coloured material which is transparent or translucent to a human observer, but is perceived as being substantially darkened or opaque by the caged rodent, wherein the item of cage furniture comprises a substantially right-angled triangular shaped floorless shelter.
Specification