Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Open Access Theses Theses and Dissertations 12-2016 The impact of tickling rats on human-animal interactions and rat welfare Megan Renee LaFollette Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses Part of the Animal Sciences Commons, and the Veterinary Medicine Commons Recommended Citation LaFollette, Megan Renee, "The impact of tickling rats on human-animal interactions and rat welfare" (2016). Open Access Theses. 867. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/867 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. THE IMPACT OF TICKLING RATS ON HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERACTIONS AND RAT WELFARE by Megan Renee LaFollette A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Comparative Pathobiology West Lafayette, Indiana December 2016 ii THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL STATEMENT OF THESIS APPROVAL Dr. Brianna Gaskill, Co-Chair Department of Comparative Pathobiology Dr. Marguerite O’Haire, Co-Chair Department of Comparative Pathobiology Dr. Sylvie Cloutier Canadian Council for Animal Care Approved by: Dr. Chang Kim Head of the Departmental Graduate Program iii For rats and their people iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, thank you to my amazing co-advisors Dr. Brianna Gaskill and Dr. Marguerite O’Haire. Thank you for supporting me, guiding me, and teaching me to be the best scientist I can be. Thank you to my committee member, Dr. Sylvie Cloutier. You taught me to tickle rats which has led to great scientific pursuits and fun. Thank you to everyone at Petco who helped with this project, especially the store managers and the employees who volunteered to tickle rats. Your time, effort, and patience with an extremely unusual research project was appreciated. Thank you to my fellow lab members, especially Melissa Swan for helping with the fecal corticosterone; thank you for your patience with my pipetting anxieties. Thank you to Amy Robinson-Junker, Noémie Guerin, and Kerri Rodriguez for being fantastic colleagues and friends. Your advice on all my projects has been great. Thank you to my research assistants, including Whitney Blankenberger, Kiara Harden, Tiffany Wineinger, and Lindsay Fischer for your dedication to the projects, from waking up at 4:30 in the morning to travel to Petco, watching rat videos, and sorting through articles for the review. Without you, I couldn’t have completed my projects. And last but not least, thank you to my family and friends. Thank you to Patrick, Rebecca, and Erin for countless hours of genuine support and advice. Thank you to my friends who kept me sane through nights at People’s Brewery, trips to work out, and just ears to talk to. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RAT TICKLING: APPLICATIONS, OUTCOMES, AND OUTCOME MODERATORS........................................................... 1 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2 Methods .......................................................................................................................... 4 Protocol ........................................................................................................... 4 Article Identification ....................................................................................... 4 Article Selection .............................................................................................. 4 Data extraction ................................................................................................ 5 Risk of Bias Assessment ................................................................................. 5 Results ............................................................................................................................ 6 Article Identification and Selection ................................................................ 6 Risk of Bias and Quality of Reporting ............................................................ 7 Characteristics of Tickling .............................................................................. 8 Outcomes of Tickling ................................................................................... 13 Tickling Outcome Moderation ...................................................................... 18 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 22 Characteristics of Tickling ............................................................................ 23 Outcomes of Tickling ................................................................................... 24 Tickling Outcome Moderation ...................................................................... 26 Risk of Bias, Limitations, and Future Directions ......................................... 28 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 29 References .................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 2. A HAPPIER RAT PACK. THE IMPACTS OF TICKLING PET STORE RATS ON HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERACTIONS AND RAT WELFARE ................... 36 vi Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 36 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 38 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................. 40 Animals, Housing, and Husbandry ............................................................... 40 Experimental treatments ............................................................................... 41 Measurements ............................................................................................... 45 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................ 50 Results .......................................................................................................................... 51 Vocalizations during Tickling ....................................................................... 51 Body Weight ................................................................................................. 51 Cage Behavior ............................................................................................... 52 Fecal corticosterone ...................................................................................... 54 Unfamiliar Approach and Restraint Test ...................................................... 55 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 59 General Discussion ....................................................................................... 59 Vocalizations during Tickling ....................................................................... 59 Cage Behavior ............................................................................................... 60 Fecal Corticosterone ..................................................................................... 61 Unfamiliar Approach and Restraint Test ...................................................... 62 Limitations .................................................................................................... 64 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 64 References .................................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER 3. TICKLING PET STORE RATS: EFFECTS ON PET STORE EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS, AND NEW OWNERS .................................................. 71 Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 71 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 72 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................. 75 Participants .................................................................................................... 75 Procedure ...................................................................................................... 77 Measures ....................................................................................................... 80 Data Analysis ................................................................................................ 82 vii Results .........................................................................................................................