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ABSTRACT
Crowding (space limitation) is a type of psychosocial condition induced by an increased density of population. Body weights provide an objective measure of laboratory animals' health and/or development. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of crowding (space limitation) on body weight in wistar rats. Twenty five (25) Male Wistar rats of comparable age weighing between 160g to 190g were procured for the experiment. The rats were divided into 5 groups (A, B, C, D and E) with 5 animals in each group. Crowding was induced by reducing the size of the cages for the different test groups. Group A animals which were the control were place in a cage with a dimension of 42cm×30cm×24cm. Group B were placed in a cage having the same size and dimension as that of the control that is 42cm×30cm×24cm. Group C animals were place in a cage that was ¾ of the control 31.5cm×22.5cm×24cm. Group D animals were place in a cage half the size of the control that is 30cm×21cm×24cm. Group E animals were place in a cage that is ¼ of the size of the control that is 21cm×15cm×24cm. The animals in all the groups were allowed to live in their various cages dimension for duration of 7 weeks. Weekly measurement was done using a weighing scale for a period of 7 weeks that the experiment lasted. Statistical analysis was done using graph pad prism version 8.0.1, results were presented as mean using ± standard error of mean. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means of test and control values while post hoc was done using Turkey’s multiple comparism test and a confidence limit is 95% p value of less than (<) 0.05 was considered as statistically significance. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in body weight of the rats in groups C, D and E. In conclusion, this research revealed that crowding (space limitation) in male wistar rats is capable of reducing body weight and this decrease in body weight is more pronounced as the crowding increases.
