A food preference study involving the South American Degu : [an honors thesis (HONRS 499)]

Abstract

This thesis involves a food preference study concerning the South American Degu(Octodon degus). The Degu is a member of the rodent family.A member about which few facts are known. Researchers know that some rodents,notably the white rat and white mice, learn thickly, and are excellent lab oratory subjects. The white rat does especially well in operant conditioning. The Degu has previously been used in operant conditioning to see if their performance matches that of the white rat. Unfortunately their performance rate proved low. However a number of variables may have caused the poor rate of response. Thereward substance in the procedure was ordinary rat chow. The age of the chow, and it's freshness was uncertain. This may have had a part in the Degu's performance.An additional factor may have been the unfamiliarity of the food. Prehaps the taste was not acceptable to the subject. The object of this research was to find a suitable replacement for the rat chow in an operant situation , a replacement that would be acceptable to the subject, and convienent to use in an operant chamber.