Mice in Optimice cage, TAFE classroom

Optimice housing units used in laboratory setting and in TAFE/educational facilities with animal courses. Mice may sometimes be provided a toilet roll as "enrichment," otherwise they are provided only food, water, litter, and a small amount of bedding material. Each cage is used to house up to 6 adult mice at a time, and kept in a large rack that can contain dozens of cages.

Mice are "ear notched" for identification purposes (holes are punched in their ears in areas that correlate to a number system). This is done without any pain relief, despite less invasive alternatives such as dye marking and fur trimming being well known and similarly effective.

These cages contain young mice have been bred as part of a TAFE course, with one cage containing as many as ten 3-4 week old babies, and their parents.