Breeding and fertility of the Egyptian spiny mouse, Acomys cahirinus: effect of different environments.

2 years experience with Acomys in one laboratory confirmed the slow breeding rate found by other workers. On moving the animals to another laboratory there was a 2-5 fold increase in breeding rate. The most likely explanation of this change was the presence of copper in the drinking water at the 1st laboratory, due to the use of copper water pipes. The data relating to maintenance and breeding of acomys for 2 years at the 2nd laboratory were analyzed to provide a more representative picture of the species.