f6098d8b__and_Use_of_Laboratory_Animals__Comments
[ID] 224 [Entry Date] 04/20/2011 at 07:50:34 AM [Affiliation] Self [Comments] 
Comment 1: 1. On p. 83, 2 L of water for 1 adult X. laevis (especially females in production) is generally insufficient for routine housing; the traditional standard is actually 1 gallon (3.8L). We kept thousands of frogs and unless your filtration and water turnover systems, including organic skimming are on "operational steroids" or over-built, commercially sold housing systems at this density will lead to stress, disease (e. g. atypical Mycobacterium), and increased mortality. This is the standard that people who sell the equipment list to tout its virtues (because other designs can pack higher densities), but it is insufficient as a routine, especially when high growth rates and colony production are the goal, which is usually the case. 2. p 84. Use of latex gloves is toxic to larvae... If you read the 2 publications from that period, my recollection is that you will find that in addition to latex, nitrile and some batches of vinyl are also toxic! Wiping or rinsing before use in water, especially if talc or starch are present are best practices. 3. p 84-85. I can attest that live food should be avoided except where necessary (e. g. only food an animal will eat, and then only until one can get it on a complete artificial diet, if possible) because live commercial source food carried multiple atypical mycobacterium by PCR (16s and heat shock protein genes, etc.)and this in turn led to diseased frogs with considerably higher morbidity and mortality. Live prey should be considered at high risk of spreading disease, and some note of caution should be included here. You mention the health of the prey, but the Mycobacterium was a likely commensal, and prey can look healthy even when diseased. This is well known from fish culture and for other exotic species as well.
Listing of Public Comments on Proposed Adoption and Implementation of the Eighth Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals