Climbing on the cage lid, a regular component of locomotor activity in the mouse

The aim of the study was to obtain base values of climbing behaviour in mice maintained under standardized conditions in Makrolon-cages. Therefore three adult male mice each of the inbred strains BALB/cJ and C57BL/6J were kept separately and two C57BL/6J females as a group in Makrolon-cages type III. In addition, the same BALB/c mice were later kept in a cage with an eightfold floor area. Behavioural observations were carried out by video technique using a light-sensitive camera and a time-lapse recorder. Locomotor activity on the cage floor and climbing on the top of the cage were measured over a period of 48 h for each animal. The duration of locomotion on the ground ranged from 24-65 min/day, climbing between 49-122 (males) and 159 min/day (females) respectively. Climbing showed a more pronounced daily periodicity than locomotion, especially in the case of the BALB/cJ strain, where the average duration of climbing was about 28 min/h during the first hour after light off. In the mouse, climbing is obviously a regular component of activity, which deserves not only attention in the discussion concerning the needs of laboratory animals, but also in measurements of locomotor activity.