UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
DEPARTMENT OF LAB ANIMAL
MEDICINE
Policy Training
Access to the Facility
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Keys and Access cards are granted after successful
completion of the following:
Online Modules
 Policy Training
 Hands-on Training
 Completed Medical History Questionnaire
 Added to the protocol via amendment by your PI.
 Completed key and access card request form signed by
your supervisor, and DLAM, then it is submitted to campus
police (this form must be separate from your lab key
request).
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DLAM Staff
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Staff is here Monday – Friday 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Limited staff is available on weekends - if you need
immediate assistance, please call Marcie Dorsett.
For general questions, contact Lou Williams at 2017
and she can direct your call.
DLAM Staff
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Director – Dr. Daniels, DVM
Facility Manager – Marcie Dorsett
Administrative Assistant – Lou Williams
Animal Health Technician – Tito Nelson
Senior Lab Animal Attendant – Zaida Cornstubble
Training Coordinator – Kim Cavanaugh
Lab Animal Attendants – Staff that work in your
rooms on a daily basis.
Laboratory Apparel
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Always have your ID badge visible.
Wear clean lab coat or clean scrubs.
Solid shoes (prefer rubber soles). No open toed
shoes or sandals.
Avoid heavy cologne or perfume.
Do not smoke in lab coat.
Occupational Health & Safety
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Do not enter other animal rooms – prevents crosscontamination
Wear proper PPE – wear gloves when handling the
animals.
Occupational Health & Safety
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Working with potential zoonotic species – specific
training is given before working with certain species
Do not enter the “Clean Room” – if you need tubs,
feed hopper or other equipment, look in the biobubble or ask DLAM staff
Occupational Health & Safety
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Clean up after yourself – dispose of all trash before
you leave the room. Additional charges may be
charged to your per diem if this continues to be a
problem.
Do not place cages on the floor
Sharps containers – located in the procedure rooms
28, 97 and 106. If you do procedures in your room,
DLAM can provide you with a sharps container. Do
not leave needles in the room.
Occupational Health & Safety
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Fire alarms – Please exit the facility if the fire
alarm sounds.
Pay attention to warning labels and signs – found
on doorways, rooms, bottles, etc.
Radios/Headphones/Cell phones/Cameras are not
permitted in the animal facility
Occupational Health and Safety
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Bites and Scratches – If you get bitten or scratched by an
animal in the vivarium, wash the area with soap and
water. Report the incident to your supervisor - they will
decide if it should be reported to the Safety Office. You
may need to go to the Occ. Health clinic – Harris
Methodist.
Allergies – This is the most common health problem
associated with lab animals. Wearing proper PPE can
help prevent them. If you do develop allergies, let your
supervisor know.
Animal Health and Husbandry
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Animal Health – The health of each animal is
assessed daily by DLAM staff. If you notice your
animals have become ill, notify DLAM staff
immediately. Fill out a green card and place it on
the cage of the sick animal.
Dead animals – If you find an animal dead, place
the animal in a glove or a black bag and give it to
DLAM staff for proper disposal. If DLAM finds one
of your animals dead, the investigator will be
notified.
Assessing Animal Health
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Common things to look for in rodents:
 Activity
level - lethargic
 Behavior – vocalizing, self-trauma, aggressive
 Food/Fluid intake – decreased feces/urine
 Eyes – red staining
 Fur – unkempt, soiled fur
 Posture – hunched
 Respiratory – opening mouth, labored breathing
 Others – seizures, tremors, tumors, infection of
wounds, paralysis
Assessing Animal Health
Animal Health and Husbandry
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Cage changes/Room cleaning schedule – All
caging is changed/cleaned at least once per week,
some require twice per week. The schedule is
posted on the room door. If you have any concerns
or questions with the schedule of your room
maintenance, please contact Marcie Dorsett at
x2013.
Feeding – DLAM feed ad libitum, a pelleted diet
to all rodents unless they are on a restricted diet. If
you have questions or concerns, please call Marcie.
Animal Health and Husbandry
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Cage Cards – Provided by DLAM. Please do not
write on or remove the cards. Extra cards with
information can be placed behind this card. We
provide various pre-printed cards for your use.
Animal density requirements – The # of animals
allowed per cage is dependant on many factors.
For specific information regarding housing of the
animals on your protocol, please contact Marcie.
Please refer to “The Guide” for more information.
Animal Health and Husbandry
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Sentinels – Sentinel animals are housed in each of
the animal rooms. They are indicated by yellow
cage cards. These are for DLAM use only, do not
remove or handle these animals. They are used for
pathogen testing every 3 months.
Dirty or soiled caging – If you have dirty caging
from your lab or empty tubs in your room, please
bring them to the cage wash room. If you find a
flooded tub, notify DLAM personnel.
Transfers and Animal Counting
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Transferring animals – if animals need to be
transferred to a different protocol or to another PI,
submit an animal transfer form to Zaida.
Using pups – Pups are counted if they are used for
research purposes. Please count pups on the
breeding form in the room.
Breeding – Breeding must be approved by the
IACUC. Pups are counted on the breeding form in
the room.
Euthanasia
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Euthanasia methods - Animals can only be
sacrificed by the approved methods outlined by the
American Veterinary Medical Association and in
your protocol. Any deviation from this can result in
the loss of facility privileges or protocol.
 CO2
asphyxiation (must be followed by a physical
means)
 Cervical dislocation (after CO2; alone requires
scientific justification)
 Barbiturate overdose
Euthanasia
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Policies:
 If
you need animals sacrificed, please complete an
Animal Euthanasia Form (Green sheet – found on the
shelves at the west entrance to the facility or ask DLAM
staff) and also mark the cage card of the animal with
an “X.” Turn the sheet in to a DLAM member.
 If you sacrificed animals in your lab, they should be in a
black bag and given to DLAM for disposal. Please call
x2014 to request a staff member to meet you at the
carcass freezer on the dock.
Euthanasia
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Do not use red biohazard bags for regular
disposal.
DLAM has a CO2 tank in the Necropsy room for
use. Ask a member of DLAM to open the door.
Document in the log book in the room that you
euthanized animals. A small fee is charged to the
lab to use DLAM’s CO2.
PI’s will assure that staff listed on protocols are
properly trained on euthanasia procedures.
Procedures on Animals
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PI’s (other lab staff) train members on techniques.
Reminders:
 Always
follow the protocol.
 If you have problems, seek assistance (lab members,
DLAM personnel).
 IP injection technique:
Anesthesia
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Anesthesia may be used for procedures other than
surgery.
If an animal is anesthetized, a Surgery/Post-op
Record must be completed and turned in to the
Animal Health Technician.
Isoflurane – animals wake up rapidly
Injectable anesthetics – animals take longer to
wake; animals must be kept warm and lab staff
MUST stay with animals until awake.
Surgery
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If surgery is listed on your protocol, you must go
through DLAM’s surgery training.
 Polices
 Overview
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of aseptic technique
If you will not be doing surgeries now, but will do so
in the future, contact Kim Cavanaugh or Tito Nelson
to set up training.
Transporting Animals
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Only animals in the conventional hallway can be
transported to and from your lab freely.
If your animals are housed in the barrier, they may
NOT be moved freely to and from the lab. They
must stay inside the barrier. Once removed, they
cannot return.
 Barrier
entry – must wear shoe covers
Transporting Animals
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Transportation cages/carts - Animals must be
transported in cages with a secure wire cage-top,
microisolator top and a Tyvek cover for each cage
to reduce stress of the animal and reduce exposure
of animal allergens to non-animal workers. DLAM
provides carts for use in the facility only. Do not
remove these carts for any reason. Your lab must
provide carts for transport to and from your lab.
Transporting Animals
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Housing outside vivarium - Animals cannot be
housed overnight (24 hours) unless it is approved in
your protocol. Animals found in your lab without
authorization can result in loss of facility access
privileges or protocol suspension. If animals are
housed overnight, they must have access to food
and water and in a proper cage. If animals are
housed for 12 hours in your lab, their health needs
to be assessed by a member of DLAM.
Transporting Animals
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Freight elevator - Only elevator to be used when
transporting animals unless it is out of service. You
may then use the passenger elevator. Unauthorized
use of the passenger elevator can result in the loss
of facility access or protocol suspension.
Transport of live animals to and from CBH
building can only be done by DLAM staff.
Contact Marcie Dorsett at x0580 to request
transport. Please give 24 hours notice.
Working with Animals in the Lab
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Follow the same procedures as you would in the
vivarium – lab coat, gloves, etc.
Keep your lab clean: No food or drink.
Keep your lab locked at all times, especially when
animals are present.
No animals should be left unattended.
If animals are recovering in the lab, cover the cage in
case of a non-animal worker were to enter the room.
A cleaning log must be kept in the lab to maintain a
record when the lab and equipment the animals come in
contact with was last sanitized.
Training
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Procedures will be taught by your lab.
DLAM is available to train you in surgical, injection,
blood and tissue collection techniques, if needed.
Contact Kim Cavanaugh at x2533 for more
information and scheduling.
Facility Security
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No unauthorized visitors are allowed in the
vivarium, including after hours and weekends, unless
approved by the Director of DLAM or his designee.
 Visitors
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must sign in at the DLAM office.
Have your badge visible when inside the vivarium.
Do not allow another individual to use your badge
and/or keys.
Concerns with Animal Care and Welfare
If you have any concerns or questions dealing with
the care, use or handling of the animals in the
vivarium, please bring it to the attention to any of
the following:
 Dr.
Daniels
 Marcie Dorsett
 IACUC
 Ethics Line
Your name will be kept confidential.
Protocol Reminders
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Animals can be ordered only on approved
protocols.
You must be listed on a protocol to do procedures
on the protocol.
Read and understand the protocol.
Do not do procedures or use drugs that are not on
the protocol.
If need to change protocol, contact IACUC office
and file an amendment. Once approved, you can
start a new procedure or use a new drug.
Thank you!
Remember - be nice to the mice…and other
critters!