When to use
- Annual facility space audits
- Grant budget planning (vivarium expansion costs)
- Responding to new PI requests for colony space
- Evaluating cage size mix optimization
- AAALAC/OLAW inspection preparation
ToolsConductScience tool
Vivarium OperationsFree in-browser calculator
Vivarium Space Planner.
Map rooms, racks, and cage types to compute facility capacity, utilization per room, and expansion recommendations. Handles mixed cage sizes and quarantine separation.
PrivateData stays in your browser
LiveNo sign-up required
Validated2026-04-08
CitableMethods and citation included
Calculator
Results update in placeTry it out
Load example vivarium space planner data to see the full workflow
Facility Settings
Rooms below this % free capacity get expansion alerts
Total cages you need across all rooms
Room 1
Required fields
- Room 1: name is required.
- Room 1: rack count must be at least 1.
Do not use for
- Individual cage-level tracking (use ConductColony instead)
- Environmental monitoring (see Air Change Calculator)
- Per-diem billing (see Per-Diem Billing Generator)
Maintain 20% Headroom Minimum
Plan for 20% headroom minimum. Facilities at 90%+ utilization frequently face emergency space crises.
Separate Quarantine from General Population
Separate quarantine space from general population in your model — quarantine cages should never be counted toward general headroom.
Rack Capacity Varies by Cage Type
Don't assume all racks hold the same number of cages. Breeding racks and IVC racks have different shelf configurations.
Account for Cage Size Mix
Forgetting to account for cage size mix leads to overestimating capacity by 20–40%.
1
Method
The planner computes effective capacity per room as: racks cages_per_rack cage_size_factor. Standard cages use factor 1.0, breeding cages 0.67, and large/IVC cages 0.5. Utilization is current_cages / capacity. Rooms with headroom below the user-defined threshold receive expansion recommendations with the number of additional racks needed.
2
Validated
Last validated 2026-04-08. Calculations are designed for planning and documentation support; verify procurement decisions against manufacturer specifications or institutional SOPs.
3
How to cite
How to Cite
ConductScience Vivarium Space Planner (v1.14.0). ConductScience. https://conductscience.com/tools/vivarium-space-planner
National Research Council. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. 8th ed. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2011.
Vivarium Space Planning Fundamentals
Effective space planning is critical for vivarium operations. Overcrowded facilities lead to animal welfare concerns, increased disease transmission risk, and potential regulatory citations during AAALAC or OLAW inspections.
The NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals specifies minimum floor area per animal based on species, weight, and group size. While these minimums set the legal baseline, most well-run vivariums maintain 15–25% headroom above current census to accommodate:
- Breeding colony fluctuations: Litter sizes vary; a productive month can add 20–30% more cages than expected.
- New protocol startups: PIs may need cages on short notice for funded grants.
- Quarantine and health surveillance: Disease outbreaks require isolation space.
- Seasonal variation: Some strains have higher fertility in spring/fall.
This planner helps facility managers model their current state, identify bottleneck rooms, and make evidence-based decisions about rack purchases or room reassignments.
Frequently asked
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Next steps
App
ConductColony
Plan facility expansion with live capacity dashboards. ConductColony tracks every cage, rack, and room in real time.
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Estimate housing costs from cage counts and rates
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