Effects of photoperiod on growth performances in female African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus)
Paper Details
Effects of photoperiod on growth performances in female African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus)
Abstract
The present work aimed to investigate the effects of photoperiod on growth performances in captive African giant rat (AGR). It was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Dschang. Thus, twenty-eight animals with comparable weights were randomly assigned to four treatments T24 (24 hrs light/0 hr dark), T18 (18 hrs light/06 hrs dark), T12 (12 hrs light/12 hrs dark) and T0 (0 hr light/24 hrs dark). These animals were housed individually and fed ad libitum during four weeks. Food intake, body weight and daily weight gain were recorded weekly. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected and serum obtained was used to essay oxidative stress parameters such as malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Results showed that increased photoperiod didn’t affect significantly (p>0.05) the growth performances. Nevertheless, higher food intake, live weight and daily weight gain were recorded in AGR enlighten compared to animals kept in dark conditions. It also appeared that, the lengthening of the photoperiod has induced a significant (p<0.05) enhancement of MDA, SOD and CAT concentrations. The findings of this study indicate that the lengthening of the photoperiod didn’t has effect on growth performances in AGR.
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