Development of homeothermy in infant C3H mice

Abstract

The ability of C3H mice to maintain normal nest-level body temperatures when removed from the nest and isolated at room temperature (24°C) was examined between 2 and 30 days of age. To account for the increasing body size and fur growth which might serve to decrease the rates of heat loss in the developing mouse, colonic temperatures were recorded for isolated live and dead mice matched for age, body weight, and pelage, over a 1-h exposure to 24° C. The results point to there being three stages of thermoregulatory development: 2–5, 8–15, and 18–30 days of age, with the pup being unable to maintain normal body temperature when isolated from the nest until 18 days of age. Increases in body size, weight, and growth of fur had little effect on heat loss through 18 days of age. © 1993, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.