I am about to do an experiment with C57BL/6N mice, but having difficulties to mark them. I tried several types of permanent marker to mark them like we used to mark Balb/c, but it's not working.
Anybody has any suggestions for me?
Hi Imam,
Your question is a little vague, how would you mark your Balb/C mice? I do have a couple of suggestions for you since I do not know how you are marking your animals. One method is to ear notch them, as long as they are not fighting this is a pretty solid method to identify your reasearch animals. If you insist on using markers, have you tried Animal Markers? They are designed to mark rodent coats; just be aware that it is not designed for marking the skin. Hope this helps.
https://www.ketchum.ca/products/lab-animal/animal-markers/1314/animal-markers-fine-tip
The most durable mark for mice is toe clipping, but this should be done during the neonatal period. As Andrew indicated, ear notching can also be used to reliable mark mice at any age, but if mice fight in their cage the notches can be damaged and unusable. I sometimes use tail marks with sharpie on C57BL/6 for very short periods of time, but marker will ultimately wear off if you are performing a long experimental protocol.
Thanks G. Andrew Pratt III Nathan Haigh for your expertise. I am going to do ear notching. Hopefully it will work as I am planning
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