A New Holding-Cage for Small Mammals.

Abstract

A new type of holding-cage is described that can be used to hold, weigh and examine small mammals caught in Elliott traps without the need for handling the animal, thus reducing the risk of disease transmission (e.g. of leptospirosis) from animal to researcher. The holding-cage is light, robust and easily carried in the field. The design includes a drawer to hold the equipment usually required by field researchers of small mammals. This new holding-cage is reported to be particularly useful for studies of mammal populations involving marked individuals that are repeatedly trapped, weighed and released.