Question 1

How does the vivarium space planner calculate capacity?

Accepted Answer

For each room, capacity = racks x cages per rack, adjusted by cage size factor. Standard cages use the full slot count. Breeding cages are wider and reduce effective capacity to about 67% of slots. Large/IVC cages take roughly half the slots. The planner sums all rooms for total facility capacity.

Question 2

What is the headroom threshold and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

The headroom threshold is the minimum percentage of unused capacity you want to maintain in each room. A 20% threshold means each room should have at least 20% of its capacity free for new animals, unexpected breeding, quarantine overflow, or surge needs. Rooms that drop below this threshold are flagged and receive expansion recommendations.

Question 3

How do breeding cages affect capacity calculations?

Accepted Answer

Breeding cages are physically wider than standard holding cages to accommodate nesting material, pups, and the dam. They occupy roughly 1.5x the rack shelf space of a standard cage. The planner applies a 0.67 factor — meaning a rack that holds 70 standard cages holds about 47 breeding cages. Select the correct cage size for each room to get an accurate capacity estimate.

Question 4

How should I handle quarantine rooms in the planner?

Accepted Answer

Mark quarantine rooms using the quarantine toggle. The planner will flag them separately and will not recommend expansion into quarantine space. Quarantine rooms should be physically separated from general population rooms per AAALAC and Guide standards.

Question 5

What does the target census feature do?

Accepted Answer

If you enter a target census (the number of cages you need to house across all rooms), the planner computes whether your total facility capacity exceeds or falls short of that target. A positive surplus means you have room to grow; a negative value means you need additional racks or rooms.

Vivarium Space Planner

Facility Settings

Room 1

Vivarium Space Planning Fundamentals

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

ConductColony

Multi-Strain Census Forecaster

Cage Census Capacity Planner

Per-Diem Cost Calculator

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