Sure. The Long Evans animals we have are about 12 weeks old and were given ad lib access to food until we received them. We usually use Fischers rats in our lab, so we have a growth chart for Fischers, but not for Long Evans. Basically, I need to know what the long-term, weekly weight gain pattern looks like for female Long Evans rats when they are given unlimited food. This will allow us to accurately food-restrict the animals to 85% of their normal body weight, which will provide motivation for food reinforcement in behavioral testing.

I've been unable to find any studies which track female Long Evans weight gain past about 15 weeks. Since we plan on doing behavioral testing for several months, I need to know what their growth looks like for at least their first year of development (but the longer time frame, the better).

I provide body weight data for male and female LE rats over 48 weeks in this paper: Tordoff et al. Preferences of 14 rat strains for 17 taste compounds. Physiology and Behavior, 95: 2008, 308 -332.

This is great, thanks so much!