The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Background Accurately measuring activity and feeding is important in laboratory animal research, whether for welfare-monitoring or experimental recording. Quantification commonly involves manual pellet-weighing; however, this can physically disturb animals and cannot continuously assess both the amo...
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Wellcome
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-172/v2 |
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| author | Vladyslav Vyazovskiy Keiran Foster Zoltán Molnár Stuart Peirson Marissa Mueller Carina Pothecary Selma Tir Laurence Brown Elise Meijer |
| author_facet | Vladyslav Vyazovskiy Keiran Foster Zoltán Molnár Stuart Peirson Marissa Mueller Carina Pothecary Selma Tir Laurence Brown Elise Meijer |
| author_sort | Vladyslav Vyazovskiy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Accurately measuring activity and feeding is important in laboratory animal research, whether for welfare-monitoring or experimental recording. Quantification commonly involves manual pellet-weighing; however, this can physically disturb animals and cannot continuously assess both the amount and pattern of feeding over time. Improved means of food-intake measurement have been developed but can be costly and incompatible with many cage configurations. Methods We developed the SnackerTracker—a novel home-cage monitoring system which continuously records food-intake, food-seeking activity, and ambient light conditions in laboratory mice. After benchtop validations, we tested this device by recording from C57BL/6J control mice under 12:12h light:dark (LD) and constant darkness (DD) to measure circadian rhythms in feeding behaviour. We then recorded from mice having disturbed circadian rhythms (cryptochrome 1 and 2 double-knockouts, Cry1-/-,Cry2-/- ), where irregular activity and feeding patterns were expected. Animals were individually housed with SnackerTrackers in Digital Ventilated Cages® (DVC, Tecniplast) to measure home cage activity. After habituation, 48-hour SnackerTracker and DVC recordings were collected and compared. Results The SnackerTracker accurately measured food-masses throughout benchtop and in vivo validation tests. Time-course SnackerTracker feeding traces correlated well with DVC activity recordings, indicating that feeding reflects general cage locomotion in control and cryptochrome-deficient animals. In LD, SnackerTracker data showed expected feeding/fasting cycles in control and cryptochrome-deficient animals yet reduced dark-phase feeding in cryptochrome-deficient mice. In DD, increased feeding during the subjective nighttime was maintained in control animals but abolished in cryptochrome-deficient mice. Surprisingly, cryptochrome-deficient animals exhibited ultradian feeding rhythms. Conclusions We validate the performance and value of monitoring home cage feeding using the SnackerTracker. Here we show that cryptochrome-deficient animals have decreased food-intake in LD, diurnal arrhythmicity in DD, and ultradian rhythms in feeding behaviour. The SnackerTracker provides a cost-effective, open-source, and user-friendly method of animal food intake and activity measurement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5cd2174bb3b04e06989c5b8a472a3cb2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2398-502X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wellcome |
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| series | Wellcome Open Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-5cd2174bb3b04e06989c5b8a472a3cb22025-08-24T01:00:01ZengWellcomeWellcome Open Research2398-502X2025-07-011010.12688/wellcomeopenres.23850.227194The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]Vladyslav Vyazovskiy0Keiran Foster1Zoltán Molnár2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6852-6004Stuart Peirson3Marissa Mueller4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5469-4544Carina Pothecary5Selma Tir6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5469-4544Laurence Brown7Elise Meijer8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4812-3275Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PT, UKDepartment of Physics, University of Oxford Department of Physics, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PU, UKPhysiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PT, UKSleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3QU, UKPhysiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PT, UKSleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3QU, UKSleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3QU, UKSleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3QU, UKPhysiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PT, UKBackground Accurately measuring activity and feeding is important in laboratory animal research, whether for welfare-monitoring or experimental recording. Quantification commonly involves manual pellet-weighing; however, this can physically disturb animals and cannot continuously assess both the amount and pattern of feeding over time. Improved means of food-intake measurement have been developed but can be costly and incompatible with many cage configurations. Methods We developed the SnackerTracker—a novel home-cage monitoring system which continuously records food-intake, food-seeking activity, and ambient light conditions in laboratory mice. After benchtop validations, we tested this device by recording from C57BL/6J control mice under 12:12h light:dark (LD) and constant darkness (DD) to measure circadian rhythms in feeding behaviour. We then recorded from mice having disturbed circadian rhythms (cryptochrome 1 and 2 double-knockouts, Cry1-/-,Cry2-/- ), where irregular activity and feeding patterns were expected. Animals were individually housed with SnackerTrackers in Digital Ventilated Cages® (DVC, Tecniplast) to measure home cage activity. After habituation, 48-hour SnackerTracker and DVC recordings were collected and compared. Results The SnackerTracker accurately measured food-masses throughout benchtop and in vivo validation tests. Time-course SnackerTracker feeding traces correlated well with DVC activity recordings, indicating that feeding reflects general cage locomotion in control and cryptochrome-deficient animals. In LD, SnackerTracker data showed expected feeding/fasting cycles in control and cryptochrome-deficient animals yet reduced dark-phase feeding in cryptochrome-deficient mice. In DD, increased feeding during the subjective nighttime was maintained in control animals but abolished in cryptochrome-deficient mice. Surprisingly, cryptochrome-deficient animals exhibited ultradian feeding rhythms. Conclusions We validate the performance and value of monitoring home cage feeding using the SnackerTracker. Here we show that cryptochrome-deficient animals have decreased food-intake in LD, diurnal arrhythmicity in DD, and ultradian rhythms in feeding behaviour. The SnackerTracker provides a cost-effective, open-source, and user-friendly method of animal food intake and activity measurement.https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-172/v2Home-cage monitoring food measurement animal behaviour activity tracking animal welfare cryptochromeeng |
| spellingShingle | Vladyslav Vyazovskiy Keiran Foster Zoltán Molnár Stuart Peirson Marissa Mueller Carina Pothecary Selma Tir Laurence Brown Elise Meijer The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] Wellcome Open Research Home-cage monitoring food measurement animal behaviour activity tracking animal welfare cryptochrome eng |
| title | The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | The SnackerTracker: A novel home-cage monitoring device for measuring food-intake and food-seeking behaviour in mice [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | snackertracker a novel home cage monitoring device for measuring food intake and food seeking behaviour in mice version 2 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | Home-cage monitoring food measurement animal behaviour activity tracking animal welfare cryptochrome eng |
| url | https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-172/v2 |
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