Module 07 - Environmental Enrichment

Opportunities to Socialize or Not

Totally isolated animals are known to be different from group-housed animals.  This is seen even with pet animals like dogs.  A dog that lives with a family and has little interaction with other dogs behaves differently than a dog that has been well socialized with other dogs.  But not all animals want to live together and it may be undesirable to have groups with both sexes present.  Aggression may be a problem with some species and strains but this may be reduced or prevented if the environment is sufficiently complex.  Sight barriers may be enough to break aggressive activities within a group.  There should be the possibility for an animal in a group to socialize or not.  This is often difficult to arrange in a small cage but even a small cage may be broken up into separate areas.  For example, the use of small igloos in a mouse cage allows some to be in the igloo and some outside.