Manzanita wood: a sanitizable enrichment option for nonhuman primates

Wooden objects are often used as nonhuman primate enrichment to provide variety and novelty, promote exploratory behavior, and supply an outlet for curiosity. However, concerns have been raised regarding the ability to sanitize wood by using conventional cage-wash procedures. To address this concern, we examined sanitation outcomes between soiled plastic toys and manzanita wooden manipulanda immediately after a cage-wash cycle. Both an ATP luminometer device, which is capable of providing an immediate assessment of sanitation levels, and traditional bacterial culture were used, with the secondary goal of comparing these methods for sanitation monitoring. Results showed that the wooden objects did not differ from plastic toys with respect to the overall efficacy of cage-wash sanitization. Therefore, manzanita wood can be used as nonhuman primate enrichment without risking pathogen transmission when items are rotated among animals.