Polycarbonate Animal Enrichment Tubes

Add a tunnel and retreat option to rodent housing

An enrichment tube changes an open cage into a more varied space. Rodents can move through the tube, investigate it, or use it as a partial retreat. This gives animal-care teams a simple structural enrichment item for programs built around exploration, movement, and shelter while keeping the enrichment component easy to identify in husbandry records.

Enrichment is part of the research environment and can influence animal behavior and study outcomes. A defined tube material and size helps facilities apply the enrichment plan consistently across comparable cages, document what was provided, and replace the same configuration when needed. Consistency is especially useful when the housing environment must remain stable across groups or study periods.

Diameter affects animal access, while length determines how the tube fits within the enclosure. The four diameter × length options are 45 × 75, 58 × 98, 75 × 148, and 90 × 148 mm, all in polycarbonate. Select the diameter around how the intended animal will enter or pass through the tube, then check the length against the usable cage space rather than choosing by footprint alone.

Placement should preserve normal access to food, water, cage doors, and observation areas. The tube should not obstruct routine animal checks or make cage handling unnecessarily difficult. Teams should also decide whether the item will remain in a fixed position or be managed according to an approved rotation schedule, since either approach becomes part of the documented study environment.

Sanitation and condition checks belong in the enrichment plan. Confirm that the facility's cleaning process is appropriate for the selected polycarbonate item, inspect it at the required interval, and replace it if condition or fit no longer meets the approved plan. Record the chosen dimensions so replacement orders use the same configuration.

Before use, confirm animal access, cage clearance, placement, cleaning method, and the approved enrichment schedule. ConductScience will help match the tube dimensions to the planned housing setup and confirm order quantity during quote review. Study teams remain responsible for deciding how enrichment is introduced and controlled within the protocol.