Standard Animal Receiving and Acclimation Guidelines

Upon the mice arriving at your facility, please inspect them according to the receiving guidelines. If you notice any abnormalities, please provide detailed photographic documentation and feedback to your designated account manager or the Gempharmatech Customer Service email (services@gempharmatech.com) within 24 hours of receipt. Post-arrival acclimation is highly recommended to help the mice adapt to their new environment and meet your experimental needs.

Receiving Guidelines

When the mice arrive, first inspect the outer transport box and verify that the information on the shipping label matches your order. After inspecting the outer packaging, immediately transfer the mice to the appropriate receiving area. Open the packaging to verify the animals' appearance, sex, and quantity.

Important Notes:

• Do not open the outer packaging outside of the proper receiving area unless experimentally necessary.

• Ensure the holding area remains well-ventilated and maintains a temperature of 20-26℃ upon arrival.

• Follow your veterinary/quarantine department's protocols to thoroughly disinfect the outer packaging before transfer to prevent unnecessary external contamination.

Acclimation Guidelines

Transport stress causes dehydration and weight loss in mice, typically around 5%-10% of their body weight, and occasionally up to 15%. We strongly advise against using newly arrived mice for experiments until after their acclimation period. Based on our experience, animal body weight typically recovers after 5-7 days of acclimation.

House the animals in appropriate animal holding rooms that are quiet, and with a low-vibration environment during the acclimation period. Supplement the cages with moistened feed and hydration gel to prevent severe dehydration stress and help the mice adapt to their new environment more quickly.

Sexually mature mice, especially males, may exhibit varying degrees of aggression and fighting during transport. Observe them closely upon arrival. If fighting occurs during the acclimation period, separate the aggressive mice and house them individually. If severe bite wounds are observed, treat them with veterinarian approved antibiotics, and provide disinfected enrichment toys to reduce the likelihood of further aggression.

For individually housed mice, in addition to providing welfare enrichment, place their cages among other mice so they can see their peers. Re-housing them together at a later stage is not recommended.

Additional Helpful Information:

• General Animal Receiving Guidelines

• Acclimation Instructions

• Germ-Free (GF) Mouse Receiving Guidelines

• Humanized Mouse Handling Manual