Pool & room
Water: temperature and changing it
Too cold and learning suffers. Too warm and they may stop trying.
Water temperature is one of those settings that quietly changes behaviour. The original notes say a good temperature for rats is 26 °C ± 2 °C, and that "colder encourages activity, but can cause hypothermia, which impairs learning". The mouse notes and the editor's note both mention 24 °C, which the editor points out "is cooler that the average rat-pool (26deg C)".
Questions people ask
How often should I change the pool water?
Remove faeces daily and change the water once or twice a week (more often if you add paint or milk). Refill on the same day so it settles to room temperature overnight. Your local ethics committee, licence conditions and vet always take precedence.
More detail
Change once or twice a week depending on numbers; drain and refill the same day so it equilibrates overnight (at least 12 h); record temperature daily [Vorhees & Williams 2024].
Going deeper
Milk spoils fast; plan more frequent changes if you use it.
How should I measure water temperature?
Stir the water, then measure at the same depth and place each time (for example just below the surface near a start point) before each session. Record it. Your local ethics committee, licence conditions and vet always take precedence.
More detail
Record temperature daily [Vorhees & Williams 2024]; one protocol measures 1 cm below the surface before each group [Bailoo 2024]. Keep within about 1 °C of target [Nunez 2008].
Going deeper
The ±1 °C band is common protocol practice; we found no study testing the tolerance itself.
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