Running hamster: a new type of mutant characterized as speedy, rotative running without motor and balance deficits

Running hamster OYC (RHO) is a mutant spontaneously arisen in a closed colony of Armenian Hamsters and has a characteristic of speedy, rotative running behavior. There are several reports which describe such mutants as abnormal walking behavior in rodents due to ataxia or balance deficits. In this report, we describe results of several motor and balance tests in order to clarify whether or not RHO mutants have such disorders. RHO mutants showed no sign of either motor or auditory deficits, and scarcely had balance deficits tested. The animals only had slight head tilting at the starting of running. These results suggest that RHO is a really new type of mutant which has not previously been reported.