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A restraining box for monkeys
TOXICOLOGY
AND APPLIED
PHARMACOLOGY
A Restraining H. N. Research
and
Development
BLAKESLEE
1,
443-445
(1959)
Box for Monkeys AND
MARGARET
Center,
American
Can
Company,
Received
February
4, 1959
IVES Barrington,
Illinois
Those concerned with the feeding of Macac,a rttesus monkeys by stomach tube are familiar with the problems involved. These include the considerable amount of tedious and painstaking labor required as well as the ever-present hazards of injury to personnel and loss of the animal by inadvertent intubation of the trachea. In order to reduce these hazards, a new type of restraining box was designed by which the feeding time required under our laboratory conditions was reduced by 8070 and only one suffocation experienced in some 13,000 feedings. The complete device consists of a 17-inch cubic plywood box with a door at the back. The box is hinged at its forward lower edge to a 21 X 36-inch table top as shown in Fig. 1. The box contains an adjustable chest plate (A) mounted 5394 inches in front of and parallel to the door. The chest plate is padded with Is-inch-thick foam rubber and covered with a heavy plastic film. It is capable of being adjusted as the growth of the animal requires. The effective bottom of the box is an adjustable shelf (B) upon which the animal perches; it is set according to trunk length. In the top of the box (C) there is a 23/4-inch diameter circular neck opening centered approximately 3 inches from the rear of the box. The back half of this opening consists of a concave segment (D) shaped to the curvature of the opening and attached to the door (E) . Below this segment and also fastened to the door is another plastic filmcovered foam rubber pad (F) similar and opposed to that on the chest plate. At the bottom of the door there is an elongated opening with a rounded top (G) sufficiently large for a hand to hold the animal’s legs when the door is closed and the animal is perched on the shelf. The box as a whole is hinged at its forward bottom edge to the middle of the supporting table surface (H). The box is constructed of 7-ply, g-inch plywood. It is painted with enamel and coated with a vinyl resin-base 443
444
H.
N.
BLAKESLEE
AND
MARGARET
IVES
top coat to permit easy cleaning. The hinges on the door and at the back of the box are of the piano type. Monkeys, which range in weight from 3500 to 6400 g, are caught in their cages by hand. The operator wears horsehide gauntlets with a protective flap over the back of the hand. The animal’s rear legs are grasped by the right hand and pulled through the cage door where an assistant then takes them with his ungloved right hand. The operator then uses both gloved hands to pull the monkey’s arms behind it and holds them
FIG. 1. Restraining box in upright chest plate and door.
position with door open showing padding on
at the elbows while the animal is drawn from the cage. The assistant then grasps the arms with his ungloved hand and carries the monkey to the box, which has been tilted forward and is lying on its front side. The monkey is placed prone on the chest plate with the neck resting in the cut-away area in the top of the box. The operator then closes the door upon the animal slightly compressing it between the foam rubber pads on the door and breast plate while the assistant simultaneously releases the monkey’s arms. The door is secured with a hook and eye and the
A RESTRAINING
BOX
FOR
MONKEYS
445
hand holding the legs is withdrawn. When the box is placed erect, the monkey is perched on the shelf with its arms and legs free to move whereas the trunk is held immobile by the foam rubber pads (Fig. 2). There are no human hands restraining it, and consequently the animal does not struggle in the usual frenzied manner.
FIG.
2.
Monkey
in restraining
box.
With the monkey in the erect position, it is a simple matter to hold the head and open the jaws. One person can hold the head in the left hand and exert pressure with the thumb and middle finger at the angle of the jaws to force open the mouth while holding the head reasonably still. Three experienced technicians can feed thirty-six monkeys in 45-60 minutes with this equipment. This box has been used by workers at the Food Research Institute, University of Chicago, with similar saving of time and effort.
AND APPLIED
PHARMACOLOGY
A Restraining H. N. Research
and
Development
BLAKESLEE
1,
443-445
(1959)
Box for Monkeys AND
MARGARET
Center,
American
Can
Company,
Received
February
4, 1959
IVES Barrington,
Illinois
Those concerned with the feeding of Macac,a rttesus monkeys by stomach tube are familiar with the problems involved. These include the considerable amount of tedious and painstaking labor required as well as the ever-present hazards of injury to personnel and loss of the animal by inadvertent intubation of the trachea. In order to reduce these hazards, a new type of restraining box was designed by which the feeding time required under our laboratory conditions was reduced by 8070 and only one suffocation experienced in some 13,000 feedings. The complete device consists of a 17-inch cubic plywood box with a door at the back. The box is hinged at its forward lower edge to a 21 X 36-inch table top as shown in Fig. 1. The box contains an adjustable chest plate (A) mounted 5394 inches in front of and parallel to the door. The chest plate is padded with Is-inch-thick foam rubber and covered with a heavy plastic film. It is capable of being adjusted as the growth of the animal requires. The effective bottom of the box is an adjustable shelf (B) upon which the animal perches; it is set according to trunk length. In the top of the box (C) there is a 23/4-inch diameter circular neck opening centered approximately 3 inches from the rear of the box. The back half of this opening consists of a concave segment (D) shaped to the curvature of the opening and attached to the door (E) . Below this segment and also fastened to the door is another plastic filmcovered foam rubber pad (F) similar and opposed to that on the chest plate. At the bottom of the door there is an elongated opening with a rounded top (G) sufficiently large for a hand to hold the animal’s legs when the door is closed and the animal is perched on the shelf. The box as a whole is hinged at its forward bottom edge to the middle of the supporting table surface (H). The box is constructed of 7-ply, g-inch plywood. It is painted with enamel and coated with a vinyl resin-base 443
444
H.
N.
BLAKESLEE
AND
MARGARET
IVES
top coat to permit easy cleaning. The hinges on the door and at the back of the box are of the piano type. Monkeys, which range in weight from 3500 to 6400 g, are caught in their cages by hand. The operator wears horsehide gauntlets with a protective flap over the back of the hand. The animal’s rear legs are grasped by the right hand and pulled through the cage door where an assistant then takes them with his ungloved right hand. The operator then uses both gloved hands to pull the monkey’s arms behind it and holds them
FIG. 1. Restraining box in upright chest plate and door.
position with door open showing padding on
at the elbows while the animal is drawn from the cage. The assistant then grasps the arms with his ungloved hand and carries the monkey to the box, which has been tilted forward and is lying on its front side. The monkey is placed prone on the chest plate with the neck resting in the cut-away area in the top of the box. The operator then closes the door upon the animal slightly compressing it between the foam rubber pads on the door and breast plate while the assistant simultaneously releases the monkey’s arms. The door is secured with a hook and eye and the
A RESTRAINING
BOX
FOR
MONKEYS
445
hand holding the legs is withdrawn. When the box is placed erect, the monkey is perched on the shelf with its arms and legs free to move whereas the trunk is held immobile by the foam rubber pads (Fig. 2). There are no human hands restraining it, and consequently the animal does not struggle in the usual frenzied manner.
FIG.
2.
Monkey
in restraining
box.
With the monkey in the erect position, it is a simple matter to hold the head and open the jaws. One person can hold the head in the left hand and exert pressure with the thumb and middle finger at the angle of the jaws to force open the mouth while holding the head reasonably still. Three experienced technicians can feed thirty-six monkeys in 45-60 minutes with this equipment. This box has been used by workers at the Food Research Institute, University of Chicago, with similar saving of time and effort.