Basic Documentation

Ventilation Systems
Siemens Industry, Inc. 109
Topic Requirement(s) Commentary
Animal
Rooms Room
Temperature
and Humidity
(Continued)
Some species may require conditions with high relative humidity (e.g., selected
species of nonhuman primates, tropical reptiles, and amphibians. In mice, both
abnormally high and low humidity may increase preweaning mortality. In rats, low
relative humidity, especially in combination with temperature extremes, may lead to
ringtail, a condition involving ischemic necrosis of the tail and sometimes toes. For
some species, elevated relative humidity may affect an animal’s ability to cope with
thermal extremes. Elevated microenvironmental relative humidity in rodent isolator
cages may also lead to high intracage ammonia concentrations, which can be
irritating to the nasal passages and alter some biologic responses. In climates where
it is difficult to provide a sufficient level of environmental relative humidity, animals
should be closely monitored for negative effects such as excessively flaky skin,
ecdysis (molting) difficulties in reptiles, and desiccation stress in semiaquatic
amphibians.
ASHRAE, 2011 Handbook - HVAC Applications, Laboratories, Page 16.15
Laboratory Animal Facilities:
Source: ILAR (1996).
(Table 1 Recommended Dry-Bulb Temperatures for Common Laboratory
Animals:
Mouse, rat, hamster, gerbil, guinea pig 64 to 79
o
F
Rabbit 61 to 72
o
F
Cat, dog, nonhuman primate 64 to 84
o
F
Farm animals and poultry 61 to 81
o
F