Facilities & Services

Biohazard Facility (BSL 2)

Specific training and safety guidelines are established for all personnel involved in projects involving hazards. Investigators provide input on the characteristics of hazardous agents to be used and any documentation which will aid in the design of safe operating procedures in the containment area. Additionally, the Texas Tech Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) provides guidelines for proper disinfection and decontamination techniques and disposal procedures.

Entry and exit protocols generated for each project must be adhered to when moving through the various areas within the containment suite. ACS staff coordinates personnel training to ensure safe operating practices. Protective clothing requirements are determined by the appropriate oversight committee and are based on the nature of the project.

Investigators are responsible for monitoring their research team’s adherence to the Occupational Health Program. Failure to follow safety guidelines may result in unnecessary risk to personnel and could result in interruption of the project.

Surgical Facility

ACS maintains a well-equipped surgical area. The area may be used for any current, IACUC-approved surgical protocol on file but requires scheduling 48 hours in advance (exceptions for medical emergencies).

Charges are incurred for expendable supplies and ACS personnel time only. For additional information contact the Facilities Manager at 806-834-2872.

Animal Delivery Service

ACS provides an animal transport service using environmentally controlled vehicles and trained drivers for investigators. The service is available for the delivery of most species of animals. Its use is required for transporting animals to or from the ACS facilities or unless another acceptable method is justified and approved by the Attending Veterinarian or designated representative.

Schedule and Arrangements

ACS Animal Transport Service is available Monday through Friday during normal Texas Tech work hours. The service is not available on weekends or holidays.

Arrangements can be made for scheduling animal deliveries by contacting the Facilities Manager at 806-834-2872. ACS requires a minimum of 24-hour advance notice when deliveries are requested. Large deliveries (large animal species and requests for classes) may require additional notice. Deliveries are charged on a per trip (one-way) basis.

Animal Euthanasia

Upon an investigator’s written request, ACS staff will euthanize animals on a fee for service basis. PLEASE NOTE: If animals are being terminated for health reasons, ACS asks for immediate direct communication so that prompt action can be taken. Methods used must reflect those approved on the investigator’s animal use protocol. For additional information contact the ACS Facilities Manager.

Anesthesia Machines/Cart

ACS has isoflurane anesthesia carts or stations for investigator use. They are equipped with all of the specialized equipment needed for the safe use of isoflurane anesthesia. In order to use the machines, investigative staff must have received prior documented training by the ACS Training staff.

Machines must be the online scheduler in advance and are reserved on a first come, first served basis. The use of the machine is offered on a fee basis and fees are predicated on time (per hour) and ancillary equipment use. Overnight anesthesia machine use is NOT allowed. For additional information, contact the ACS Facilities Manager.

Technical Support and Assistance

Technical assistance from ACS professional technical staff is available on a fee for service basis. All services must be arranged through ACS prior to AUP approval, indicating that ACS staff will perform services.

ACS provides training services via: Hands on learning; and Web-based learning

Contact ACS at 806-834-2872 to learn more about the training services provided.

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 unless specifically listed as 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.

*New rates in affect as of 9/1/2024. For purposes of estimating annual costs for research and grant proposals, expect a minimum 3% yearly increase.

**If there is a species/rate that you do not see lised, please contact ACS Facilities Manager for futher information

Included in Per Diems

• Routine and standard husbandry
• Routine cage changes
• Routine animal health care
• Minor conditions care/treatment
• Daily animal health checks
• Routine sentinel program
• Disease outbreak management
• Animal carcass or tissue disposal
• Sharps containment and disposal
• Environmental enrichment
• Colony health management
• Training & protocol development
• Routine facility inspections, maintenance and repairs
• Routine billing
• General necropsy

Special Services at Additional Cost

• The following special services are not Included in per diems and are charged back to the PI directly.
  • Non-standard diets and shipping fees
  • Temporary caging for sample collection, or extra cage changes beyond ACS standard practices due to research model or protocol requirements (e. g., diabetic mice, breeder cages)
  • Quarantine assays
  • Quarantine management from unapproved vendors
  • Special PPE requests
  • Special technical services including drugs, supplies or materials requested by PIs
  • Breeding colony management
  • Weaning management
• The following fees are not included in per diems and are charged as a fee for services in 15 minute increments.
  • Emergency care or treatments by veterinarian or vet staff
  • Research activities (injections, sample collection, anesthesia, euthanasia, surgical support post-op care, and breeding services) by veterinarian or vet staff
  • Research related necropsies
  • Special equipment/room installation, storage, or removal costs
  • Special husbandry requests (metabolic cage assembly, water bottles, autoclaved water bottles, filling humidifier)
  • Special invoicing requests

**If investigators are willing and able to share IVC racks with other investigators, there will not be a dedicated room charge, only per diem. If an investigator requests a dedicatied room, then a room charge plus der diem will be charged.

Environmental Health Monitoring

Exhaust dust testing (EDT) and sentinel free soiled bedding (SFSB) are PCR-based environmental health monitoring (EHM) approaches that allow superior monitoring of rodent colony health while reducing or eliminating the use of sentinel animals.

The IDEXX BioAnalytics REPLACE™ matrix is a pathogen collection material that consistently detects higher copy numbers than other commercially available environmental collection media, for both sentinel-free soiled bedding (SFSB) and exhaust dust testing (EDT).

REPLACE™ matrices are validated to ensure the absence of pathogenic nucleic acids and rigorously tested to verify pathogen capture and detection. Environmental rodent health monitoring with REPLACE™ is the most robust PCR-based surveillance method available.

Environmental monitoring can play a key role while allowing Replacement of the use of animals with alternative testing techniques, Reduction in the number of animals used, and Refinement in the way health monitoring is done.

For rodent health reports, please contact the Animal Care Services facilities manager.