"Animal Caretaker - Extra Help (Temporary)"

Assist in the provision of high quality care of laboratory animals maintained by the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM).

50% Animal Care

• Cage change – Assist in the provision of routine housing and care (feed, water, bedding, etc.) for all animals maintained by the division as described in the husbandry SOP. This will also include separating overcrowded cages, when necessary, and reporting appropriate information to supervisor.
• Observation – Observe animals daily and report unusual behavior or clinical signs of illness or distress. Notify supervisor or veterinary staff of any unusual circumstances in environmental conditions or animal health.
• Medical – Administer medical treatments to animals, as directed by the veterinary staff, primarily on weekends or holidays.
• Euthanasia – Perform euthanasia of rodents, utilizing a carbon dioxide chamber, as instructed by veterinary or supervisory staff, primarily on weekends or holidays.
• Restraint – Restrain animals when necessary during procedures performed by the veterinary staff and for researchers, or their technicians as instructed by supervisory staff.
• Revised: 08/13/25
• Special Care - Provide care for animals in special circumstances, such as for breeding colonies, barrier housed animals, and infectious or chemical containment as instructed by supervisory staff.
• Receiving/Transporting – Receive animals from various sources, uncrate animals, verify animal species, sex, and weight with vendors invoice. Match pre-typed cage cards with animals received. Transfer animals from shipping crate to facility housing.
• Hydropac - Operate and maintain Hydropac 2500 machines. Run pouches as needed to maintain supply for daily use and emergency back-up. Monitor water quality by testing chlorination of pouches. Perform routine maintenance of machines, including regular cleaning and changing of filters.

40% Sanitation

• Facility – Routinely clean and disinfect animal rooms and facility hallways, including disinfection of walls and floors. Change room air and water filters, clean drains, buff floors and hose animal runs.
• Equipment – Operate and perform routine maintenance of mechanical cage washers as needed, floor buffers and steam autoclave.
• Cagewash - Dump bedding. Disassemble and manually pre-wash cages and associated cage components, racks and water bottles. Place cages, racks and water bottles into mechanical washers. Fill clean cages with bedding. Store clean cage components in appropriate locations.
• Autoclave - Autoclave dirty cages used for ABSL-2 studies prior to disposal. Autoclave supplies into the barrier facility.

5% Record Keeping

Records completion of daily/weekly/monthly tasks in each animal housing room and other assigned spaces. Counts and records animal census by species and investigator account. Mark cages of sick animals, complete animal health note to supervisor and veterinary technician, record births and complete dead animal reports.

5% Other Duties

Training and assisting new or less experienced staff as needed. Perform other duties as assigned.

High School Diploma or equivalent