Table 3 Clinical scoring system to assess health status

General appearance

Normal, alert

0

Abnormal or hunched posture, dull appearance to eyes, dehydration, notable weight loss

1

Stupor: A state of impaired consciousness characterised by a marked diminution in the capacity to react to environmental stimuli

2

Sopor: a deep, lethargic or unnatural sleep

3

Coma: a state of extreme unresponsiveness, in which an individual exhibits no voluntary movement or behaviour. Even painful stimuli (actions which, when performed on a healthy individual, result in reactions) are unable to affect any response, and normal reflexes may be lost

4

Skin and fur

Normal

0

Ruffled fur, unkept appearance

1

Rash, pallor, redness, icterus, petechiae, ccchymoses, wound, abscess, ulcer

2

Respiration

Normal

0

Increased (>60) or decreased respiration rate per minute (<50/min), cough, sneezing

1

Dyspnoea, open mouth breathing, cyanosis

2

Faeces and urine

Normal consistency and volume

0

Decreased faeces, fry, wet and pasty, discoloration decreased urine, discoloration

1

Faeces absent

2

Liquid faeces (if debilitating), urine absent, blood in faeces or urine

3

Food intake

Normal

0

Decreased (eating less than half normal food intake)

1

Eating biscuits but no fruit or pellets

2

Severely decreased (not eating biscuits)

3

Locomotor activity

Normal

0

Hyperactivity (circling, increased aggression); Hypoactivity (hunched, inactive on camera, active with people in room)

1

Ataxia, neurological signs (tremors, head tilt), loss of interest in treats

2

Reluctant to move, uses cage for support, difficulty getting to food or water (decreased response to human presence), seizures

3

Down with no or minimal response to human approach, coma

4

Position in the cage^a

Upper part

Bottom part

Social behaviour^a

Scent-marking

Twisting

Slit stare

Grooming

Sitting and resting

Walking, running, climbing and jumping gaps between objects

‘Bouncing gait’: running with an exaggerated bouncing movement and frequently included bouncing off objects