Mice were housed in individual metal cages (10 x 7.5 x 5 inches), having
removable tops of wire mesh, and an externally-mounted water bottle that
had a drop-type spout extending into the cage. Cages were on one of five
shelves of a movable tier of shelving, and were rotated randomly, from
one shelf to another, each week. A layer of dry wood shavings covered
the bottom of each cage. A control cage was similarly equipped.
The mice were kept in a room in which temperature and photoperiod were
controlled. The ambient air temperature of this room was 20 to 23
degrees Centigrade throughout the experiments, and averaged 21 degrees.
Humidity was not controlled, but remained low throughout the
experiments. The room was illuminated for eight hours each day, from
about 9 A. M. to 5 P. M.
The animals were fed at least once a week, at which time all remaining
food was weighed and discarded, and the remaining water was measured.
Tap water was used in all of the experiments. The cages were cleaned
each week. Each time the cages containing mice were handled, the control
cage was handled in the same way. The amount of evaporation was
determined each week by measuring the water remaining in the bottle of
the control cage.
Water and food consumption of individuals of _P. maniculatus_ and _P.
truei_ were measured when the mice were fed diets of differing protein
content. To my knowledge, the only other study in which water
consumption was measured for mice of the genus _Peromyscus_ on diets of
different protein contents was by Williams (1959b). Because of the
limited number of animals available, it was decided that the best
results could be obtained by placing all individuals on the same diet
for a predetermined number of weeks, then on a second diet for a certain
period, and so on.
Each mouse was weighed at the beginning, at the mid-point, and at the
end of each experiment. The mice were weighed on the same days, at times
when they were inactive. Because weights of individual mice differ,
water and food consumption was calculated on the basis of the amount
consumed per gram of body weight per day. All foods were air-dry and
contained a negligible amount of water.
First, food and water consumption was measured for nine individuals of
each species on a diet of Purina Laboratory Chow. This chow contains not
less than 23 per cent protein and 4.5 per cent fat, and about 57 per
cent carbohydrate. Since the mice had been maintained on this diet for
several months prior to the experiments, food and water consumption was
measured for a period of only two weeks. Individuals of _P. truei_
consumed more total water and more water per gram of body weight than
individuals of _P. maniculatus_ (Table 7).
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