Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) Practice Exam

What are squeeze cages primarily used for?

1. Providing comfort during transport

2. Restraining the animal within its cage

3. Facilitating social interactions

4. Housing pregnant animals

The correct answer is: Restraining the animal within its cage

Squeeze cages are specifically designed to restrain animals within their environment, ensuring that they cannot escape or move freely, while still allowing for necessary procedures to be performed safely. These cages create a secure environment that helps to minimize stress for both the animal and the handler when handling or performing procedures on the animal. While there are other types of cages and housing systems that may serve different specific purposes—such as providing comfort during transport or facilitating social interactions—squeeze cages are explicitly intended for the effective restraint of the animal, making them a valuable tool in laboratory settings where precision and safety are paramount. This makes them highly effective for situations that require the operator to keep the animal secure without using physical restraint techniques that could cause stress or injury to the animal.