Animal Care Services
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Animal Care Services Per Diem Rates

Animal Care Services is obligated to recover the unsubsidized costs associated with the procurement, care and support of animals used in research or teaching at Texas Tech University. Investigators are billed on a monthly basis for those expenses. Bills are distributed to investigators following the month these charges were incurred. These per diem rates were determined using detailed cost accounting and a survey of the per diem rates charged by many other universities.
All charges are per animal except for rodents and frogs, which have a per cage charge. The number of animals housed per cage must conform to the standards established in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals or the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Teaching and Research. Animals housed together must be compatible.
Per diem charges include: Daily observation of every animal, one or two feedings/ waterings per day of a standard ration, routine veterinary care, and appropriate husbandry and sanitation of cages or pens according to TTU SOPs and applicable guidelines. Animals must be purchased by ACS and are charged at cost plus a minimal administrative service charge when appropriate.

Special Animal Health Needs: Requests for animal health services will be taken and a cost estimate will be provided prior to the start of the work. Costs will include supplies, mileage, technician and veterinary time.

Species

Charge

Basis

Mice (Up to 5 per cage)

$0.38

Per cage/day

Rats (Up to 3 per cage)

$0.50

Per cage/day

Voles (Up to 5 per cage)

$0.75

Per cage/day

Pigs

$4.00

Per animal/day

Ducks or Quail

$0.38

Per animal/day

Finches

$0.38

Per animal/day

Frogs/ Amphibians

$0.38

Per cage/day

Reptiles

$0.20

Per animal/day

Dogs

$5.00

Per animal/day

Rabbits

$1.38

Per animal/day

Growing Chickens/Partial Care

$0.38

Per cage/day

Adult Chickens

$1.38

Per animal/day

Other Species

Cost

At a minimum of rodent rate

Feeder Rats

Cost

 

Feeder Mice

Cost

 

Technician

$25/hr

 

Veterinarian

$50/hr

 

Transportation

$0.75/mile

 

Feed Grinding

$16.00

Per 50 lb

Health Certificate

$17.00

 

Small Laceration

$55.00

 

Moderate Laceration

$100.00

 

Large Laceration

$150.00

 

Castration

$75.00

 

Trich Test

$56.00

 
Human Science Room Rate

$250

Per month

Experimental Sciences (BSLII) Rates

The ESB-AF facility is operated by Animal Care Services (ACS).   ACS resides in the Vice President for Research’s Administrative Unit.  The ESB-AF is operated as a conventional laboratory animal facility, or as an animal Biosafety Level (BSL) 2, or 3 facility.   Each increasing increment of Biosafety requires additional safeguards and costs.

By laboratory animals we mean any vertebrate used in teaching or research.  This includes rodents, and any small or medium-sized animal that the facility can accommodate safely. Non-animal research that involves Biosafety containment will be considered if the space is available.

Any animal research conducted in the ESB-AF must first be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), and by the Director of Animal Care Services.  Additional approvals may be required as appropriate for the type of space use anticipated.

Priority for animal research in the ESB-AF is, in the following order:

        BSL-2 or BSL-3 animal use

        Conventional laboratory animals

        Non-animal research requiring Biocontainment

Until space pressures require otherwise,  animal space will be rented by the room (not the cage or animal).  In general, a given pathogen will be used in only one room or space. Within the room rental, charges may be made for specialized housing or specialized care.

Investigators may use the laboratory spaces as non-dedicated spaces at no charge.  Investigators must decontaminate each work space after each use.  If investigators require specialized equipment or a dedicated laboratory non-animal space, then a negotiated charge for that space will apply.

The charge for a dedicated animal room is:

Rented on an annual basis:  $6,000/year

Rented on a monthly basis:     $750/month

The room charge includes routine care of conventional laboratory animals up to 12 cages of rodents (or an equivalent number of cages of other animals) at no additional charge.  Each cage above 12 cages will be charged at the following rate:

BSL-2: 2 X the published per diem

BSL-3: 3 X the published per diem

Ventilated Rack Rental:  $500/month

Other specialized caging charges will be negotiated near cost.