Environmental enrichment for rhesus macaques: A cost-effective exercise cage

Providing suitable and varied environmental enrichment opportunities for no nhuman primates is both challenging and expensive, requiring institutions t o be innovative when planning an enrichment program. Equipment must be dura ble, nontoxic, easily sanitized and disinfected, and readily assembled or p repared by animal care personnel. We developed a portable exercise cage for singly housed macaques from pre-existing but outdated caging; our cage met the described requirements and was used in animal-holding rooms. Modifying existing caging for this purpose led to substantial cost saving. These cag es have proved to be popular with animals and their affiliated research tea ms.