Tips and Helpful Hints
    This page is a place for ideas gleaned from technical publications, web forums, newsletters, and experiences of others. We offer these hints and tips to improve the research experience for the animals and the investigators. Perhaps one of these will save you time, effort or money. They are only suggestions, and you may adapt them to your specific needs.
Tip#9 Warming Rodent Tails for IV Injection
          When attempting to perform IV tail vein injections in rodents, especially mice, it is important to have adequate vasodilation of the tail veins. This is ususlly achieved through whole body warming. Due to constraints in space, animal model or restrictions due to surgical manipulations it may be difficult to perform whole body warming. An alternative is to use an oil that causes the skin to become warm to the touch and heats when blown on causing temporary vasodilation. It is sold at adult stores under the name "hot motion lotion". The additional benefit is that the oil causes the skin to look more translucent and the vessels more apparent. The oil is non-toxic and can be wiped off with an alcohol swab.
                                                                                                                                           
Tip#8 Bandaging Material Organization
         Keeping rolls of tape organized and accessible can be difficult. One solution is to purchase lazy susans designed to hold baby food jars. These are compact, taking up a minimum of counterspace, plastic for easy cleaning, and have a covered central well for miscellaneous supplies including scissors. The slots that hold the baby food jars will accommodate standard size rolls of paper tape, cloth tape, elastic tape, porous tape, and self adhesive elastic from 1/2 inch to 4 inch width. The babyfood holders can be purchased at many baby supply stores and department stores. They are also commonly found at thrift shops.
Tip#7 Frog Anesthesia Solution
         To facilitate the preparation of MS-222 anesthesia solution, eppendorf tubes are used to hold premeasured amounts of MS-222 powder (0.15 g) and sodium bicarbonate (0.05 g) . The tubes seal well and are easily labeled. They are stored in the refrigerator until needed. The contents of the tube is dissolved in a small amount of cold water and then brought to the required volume of 200 mL for immersion. We have found that using this method give a consistant concentration of MS-222 and buffers the anesthetic to a pH of 7.0 to 8.0. The tubes can be either reused or discarded.

Tip#6 Marking Surgical Instruments
         We  keep instruments for necropsy separate from those used for survival surgery. To make identification obvious and easy for all lab members, we mark instruments using different colors. Initially we used different colored plastic tapes designed for instruments. We found that the tape had several disadvantages; it made cleaning difficult, the adhesive lost its sticking ability after several sterilization cycles, and when removed left a sticky residue. As an alternative, we have replaced the tape with different colors of enamel nail polish. It is durable, washable, and stands up to autoclaving. When surgical instruments need to be retired, it is easily removed and can be replaced with a color indicating it is for necropsy only. This prevents non-functioning instruments from reappearing in surgical packs. We are also able to mark instruments with the lab name allowing easy identification and retrieval should they be misplaced.
Tip#5 Frog Pillows
       Xenopus frogs must break the surface of the water to breathe. When recovering from anesthesia it is necessary to keep their heads out of the water to prevent drowning or asphyxiation and at the same time keep their skin moist to prevent damage from drying. This can be accomplished with the use of "frog pillows" made from 3 paper towels. One paper towel is wadded into a lose ball the other two are placed over the top and slightly wrapped underneath the first. The paper towels are then placed into the recovery tank where the water is about 4 inches deep. The water is absorbed into the towels but air is trapped in the center of the paper causing it to float. The pillow is situated in a corner of the tank. The frog can be placed on the pillow with the head out of water. The wet towels maintain moisture to the skin but prevents drowning. Water can be gently splashed over the back and respirations monitored until the frog is able to push itself off the pillow.

Tip#4 IV Catheter Placement
     Rubbing a small amount of sterile water based lubricant over the venipuncture site can assist in the placement of indwelling venous catheters in cats and dogs. Make sure the skin is prepared and clean before beginning. Only a very small amount of lubricant is used. It should be rubbed into the skin. If you can see the gel, it is too thickly applied. This is helpful when animals are dehydrated or have very tough skin.

Tip#3 Heat Source During Rodent Surgeries
    Small animals can develop hypothermia rapidly when anesthetized. This is especially so during the surgical scrub when alcohol rinses are used. A product called Wrap & Win Hot/Cold Treatment Packs for Horses can be adapted for providing warmth during the surgical procedure. It comes in sheets 16 inches by 4 feet made of 2.5 inch square pillows. Scissors are used to cut the sheet into appropriate sizes. Place the section in clean water for 10 minutes to expand the pillows. Wipe off excess water. The section can either be microwaved in 15 second increments to the desired temperature or placed in hot water. Do not boil this product. The expanded pillows create a groove that helps stabilize the animal's position. The product can also be frozen for use as a cold pack. Simply place the hydrated section in the freezer. It is reusable. Simply store in the freezer and rehydrate when needed. Worn, torn or contaminated sections can be thrown away. One side is plastic coated and can be disinfected. To increase the use time, sections can be placed in plastic bags and covered with a thin cloth during surgeries.
To order call 1-877-811-7056 or email: salescontact@wrapandwin.com

Tip #2 Surgical Prep - Hair Removal
    When preparing rodents for a surgical procedure, it is often difficult to remove all the hair from the surgical field. Use a small hair clipper to start such as the Wahl small animal battery powered trimmer. It is light weight and the blade width is ~1 inch. After shaving the surgical site, use masking tape, medical tape (Zonas) or cellophane tape to pick up any stray hairs. The tape can be gently pressed to the animal's skin and slowly pulled away trapping hair on the sticky side for easy disposal. A ring of tape can also be rolled on the table to clean the area and prevent hair flying through the air when disinfectant is sprayed during clean up.

    Tip #1 Rodent Surgical Drapes
            Rodent surgical drapes made of paper or cloth often make observation of the animal impossible. They tend to slide off the animal and hinder the procedure. The Charles River Laboratory in Raleigh, NC uses Glad Press'n Seal® wrap as a surgical drape. CRL has checked the asepsis of the wrap and found no problems.  You can cover the animal and use it as a drape or wrap the animal to conserve body heat. It is clear allowing surgical monitoring and observation. Also it can be used to transport the animal into a recovery cage where it can be 'unwrapped'.
            According to the manufacturer it "uses Griptex®, a proprietary gripping technology. Think of the textured surface of GLAD Press'n Seal® wrap as having thousands of tiny hills and valleys. Only when you apply pressure do the valleys seal to the desired location.  The sealing actually works with the help of the primary ingredients typically found in chewing gum — an old idea now applied to wrap! These ingredients have been approved by the FDA for over thirty-five years and are frequently used for labels found on fruits and vegetables. Griptex® technology allows GLAD Press'n Seal® wrap to seal to plastic, paper, Styrofoam® containers, metal, wood, glass and many other surfaces."
            This tip was suggested by the Research Operation Manager at NCSU through the LAWTE listserve.

Freimann Life Science Center can be contacted at :
e-mail: ndflsc.ndflsc.1@nd.edu
phone:  574-631-6085
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Last Updated 9/30/11
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