Polypropylene Feeding Tubes for Rodents

You sure can! Request your free sample here. Just remember, our free sample program is for laboratory animal research organizations only. For additional product information/sizing download the brochure. 

Flexible plastic feeding tubes are available in small box quantities of 50 (10 sterile pouches of 5) or large box quantities of 250 (50 sterile pouches of 5). Discounts for larger quantities may be available. Request a Quote to inquire.

Flexible plastic feeding tubes have any number of benefits. By their very nature, the tubes can be damaged or severed if they are bitten. This is the most common issue encountered when switching from stainless to plastic tubes. Often, if the animal is biting the tube, that’s a sign of added stress. If this happens, stop! Take a moment to pause, reset your grip, and try again. The animal’s comfort comes first! A dose should never be a struggle or forced.

When using plastic tubes for dosing, it’s important to go along the side of the mouth away from the teeth. Not only is this more comfortable for the rodent, but it prevents biting as well. Learn more

Plastic feeding tubes are susceptible to biting, particularly if you’re used to the rigid nature of stainless steel. Instinct says to simply use a bite guard, but this can mask the real problem, not solve it. If a rodent is biting your tube it’s because of discomfort, and that typically comes down to adjusting your technique. Bite guards can actually cause further discomfort to the animal due to increased tube thickness, and you eliminate an indicator that your animal is experiencing stress. We don’t recommend them. Learn more about bite guards and flexible plastic feeding tubes.

Proper restraint is the most important step of any gavage procedure, even more so when using flexible plastic. Before giving an oral dose to any rat or mouse, it’s important to spend some time handling them beforehand. The more you handle and play with them, the more relaxed they will be when it comes time to scruff and dose. This helps make the whole process easier for both you and the animal.

Mice

Gently but firmly grasp the mouse by the base of the tail. Then use the thumb and index finger to gently grasp the nape of the neck. You may use your middle finger to stabilize the head. Once you have a good grasp, lift the mouse and hold in an upright position freeing the legs from the bench surface. The mouse should appear comfortable, judged my monitoring respiratory rate that is within normal limits. Alternatively, you can employ a two-handed technique that lifts the tail with one hand while the nape of the neck is scruffed by the other hand as shown in the first technique. 

How to Oral Gavage a Mouse with Flexible Plastic Feeding Tubes

Rats

Gently and firmly grasp the rat at the nap of the neck between the thumb and forefinger. Lift the rat by the scruff and confidently hold it in an upright position so the rat cannot use its back legs for leverage.

After scruffing the mouse or rat, the feeding tube should be inserted to the right or the left of the midline. Doing so reduces the chance the animal can bite the tube. Little to no resistance should be felt — if you do feel some resistance, you may have accidentally entered the trachea. If you notice fluid bubbling from the nose, stop administration immediately. This is an indicator of aspiration. Move swiftly but carefully, and be sure to empty the entire syringe before removing it. Be sure to monitor the animal after dosing to make sure breathing remains within normal limits.

How to Oral Gavage a Rat with Flexible Plastic Feeding Tube

Polypropylene feeding tubes are packaged sterile. We label all our sterile products with the date of manufacture, not an expiration date. The actual time period after which sterility can become compromised depends on storage conditions and the risk that non-sterility poses vary depending on the application being used. Therefore, Instech leaves the decision on when a product is no longer fit for use to its customers.

See Guide to Understanding Instech Sterile Pounches

No. Polypropylene feeding tubes cannot and should not be reused to eliminate residual compounds and the risk of compound crossover.

Yes. Our polypropylene flexible rodent feeding tubes, part numbers starting with “FTP-”, do not contain bisphenol-A (BPA).