Species-specific housing and routine procedures for spiny mice ( <i>Acomys</i> ) maintained in large individually ventilated cages
Spiny mice ( Acomys spp.) are increasingly used in biomedical research owing to their unique physiological properties and ability to regenerate tissues, yet standardized laboratory housing conditions are largely based on mouse or rat models and may not adequately meet their species-specific needs. Here, we describe a practical protocol for the housing of spiny mice in large individually ventilated cages, including cage setup, diet, environmental enrichment, breeding, and health monitoring. We also provide recommendations for standard procedures used in animal research, such as identification methods, anesthesia, analgesia, and euthanasia. Last, we expand on the best laboratory practices in the context of common surgical procedures used in the field of regenerative biology, such as dorsal skin wounds and ear punch injury. Our recommendations are based on a decade of experience with routine colony management and behavioral observations at different European research sites and are intended as a practical reference for laboratories starting up Acomys colonies and as guidelines for regulatory authorities and ethics committees involved in approval processes for Acomys facilities and research.
Authors
- Ann M. Clemens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5488-0902)
- Tim Koopmans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-3285)
- Satu Kuure (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9076-0622)
- Aida Rodrigo Albors (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9573-2639)
- Mónica Mendes Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4524-2260)
- Antonio Tomasso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2869-1969)
- Gustavo Tiscórnia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1841-5330)
- Sofia Lamas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1665-1989)
- Sofía Ferreira-González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7776-287X)
- O. Mäkelä (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6852-9814)
- Sebastian A. Lewandowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5935-0211)
- Kerstin Bartscherer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3070-4389)
- Enric Llorens-Bobadilla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7891-1272)
- Anna Meller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9121-210X)
- Vanessa A. Disela (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1611-7997)
Institutions
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (NL)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Osnabrück University (DE)
- Helsinki Institute of Physics (FI)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (GB)
- Centre for Inflammation Research (GB)
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto (PT)
- University of Algarve (PT)
- Stanford University (US)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Laboratory Animals
- Published
- 2026-07-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/00236772261458186
- Primary Topic
- Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- UK Research and Innovation
- Hartstichting
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Hjärnfonden
- Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning
- LEO Fondet
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain
- H2020 European Research Council
- H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions