Acclimating Syrian Hamsters for Experiments

Adult male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), weighing between 120 and 130 g, were obtained from Charles River Laboratory (Kingston, NY) at approximately 3 months of age. Hamsters were group-housed until the beginning of the experiment when they were individually housed in polycarbonate cages (24 × 33 × 20 cm). Animals were housed on corncob bedding, given cotton nesting material, and maintained in a temperature-controlled colony room under a 14:10 h light/dark cycle, which is standard to maintain reproductive gonadal status in hamsters. It is important to note that individual housing is not stressful for Syrian hamsters^{68 (link)}. Food and water were available ad libitum. All hamsters were handled daily for 7 days to acclimate them to handling stress before the beginning of the experiment. All protocols and procedures were approved by the Georgia State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee prior to experimentation, and all methods align with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.