A Multiple Type Rat and Mouse Holder

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Abstract
A multiple type compartmented cone-shaped holder for confining rats and mice of various sizes for tagging, weighing, sexing, and aging was developed during studies of the effect of weekly airplane spraying of DDT on cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus), rice rat (Oryzomys palustris), white-footed mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus), and house mouse (Mus musculus), populations at Savannah, Georgia. The bottom board of the holder is 121/2 inches long and 43/4 inches wide at the base narrowing down to 1 inch at the apex. It is slotted at 1-, 41/2-, 61/2-, and 81/2-inch intervals from the base. Sections of 1/2-inch mesh hardware cloth are attached to the bottom board on each side between the slots and are arched above it. The cone of hardware cloth rises 4 1/2 inches above the bottom board at its base and is flush with the board at its apex. The sections of hardware cloth are reinforced with sheet metal edges soldered to the cloth. Sheet metal baffles of appropriate size slip in between the hardware cloth sections and are anchored in the bottom board slots. Larger rodents are confined by placing the largest baffle in the first slot, and smaller animals are enclosed in the smaller compartments. Fine brass wire is stranded across the hardware cloth of the smallest compartment because house mice sometimes escape through the mesh.

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