Containment systems and components for animal husbandry
Provided are animal containment systems and components, including single-use animal containment cages and modular rack units. Also provided are methods for assembling and using components of the animal containment systems.
1. A nested set of rodent containment cage bases, comprising:
a plurality of rodent containment cage bases constructed from a polymer that are about 75% nested or more;
each cage base comprising a bottom and a wall or walls;
each cage base comprising at least one corner or edge in the cage base interior that is accessible to a rodent that can be contained in the cage base; and
which at least one corner or edge is defined by (i) surfaces having an angle α greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees, and (ii) a minimum radius φdefined by: φ=0.25/(tan((π/360)(360-α))) inches.
2. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the cage bases are about 80% nested or more.
3. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the cage bases are about 85% nested or more.
4. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the cage bases are about 90% to about 95% nested.
5. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the wall or walls taper inwards towards the bottom.
6. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein each cage base comprises an indent or boss that butts a corresponding indent or boss of an adjacent nested cage base.
7. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 6 , wherein the indent or boss facilitates separation of the nested cage unit bases from one another.
8. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 7 , wherein the indent or boss further comprises edges or corners which are defined by a radius of 0.03 inches or less.
9. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polyethylene teraphthalate.
10. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polyvinyl chloride.
11. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polyethylene.
12. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 11 , wherein the polymer is high-density polyethylene.
13. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polyethylenefluoroethylene.
14. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polystyrene.
15. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is high-density polystyrene.
16. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is an acrylnitrile butadiene styrene copolymer.
17. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polypropylene.
18. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 1 , wherein the wall or walls of each cage base comprise a thickness of 0.01 to 0.08 inches.
19. The nested set of rodent containment cage bases of claim 18 , wherein the wall or walls of each cage base comprise a thickness of 0.01 to 0.03 inches.