Table 1.
Ethogram.
| Behavior | Definition |
|---|---|
| Motor Stereotypy | |
| Bizarre posture | Holding a seemingly uncomfortable or contorted position |
| Bounce | Repetitivelya using one’s hind legs or all four limbs to push oneself off the cage surface |
| Flip | Repeateda forward or backwards somersaults, may utilize the cage sides or ceiling |
| Floating limb | An arm or leg rises into the air and may or may not contact the body (e.g., gently stroking the body). The action appears to be non-volitional; the animal may interact with the limb as if it is not part of the body. This behavior may be associated with SIB such as self-biting or self-hitting |
| Head toss | Repetitivelya moving head up and down, side to side, or in a circular manner |
| Pace | Repeated walking in the same pattern (e.g., back and forth) for at least 3 revolutions |
| Rock | Repeateda back and forth or side to side movement of the body |
| Spin | Repetitivea circling of body around a pivot point |
| Stereotypic locomotion | Idiosyncratic repetitivea whole body movements, particular to an individual; does not meet criteria for other behaviors defined above |
| Swing | Repetitivea back-and-forth movement when hanging from the cage side or ceiling |
| Self-directed Behavior | |
| Eye poke | Placement of fingers or toes into, or right next to, the eye for an extended period of time; often appears as if the animal is “saluting” |
| Hair pull | Pulling own hair from body |
| Nipple manipulation | Repeated handling of nipple with hands or mouth |
| Self-biteb | Mouth-to-self contact where teeth contact the skin |
| Self-clasp | Clutching one’s own body with hands or feet |
| Self-oral | Sucking a part of one’s own body |
| Abnormal Appetitive Behavior | |
| Abnormal mouth movements | Repeated movement of mouth, lips, or tongue, not associated with eating or manipulating an object in the mouth. |
| Coprophagy | Ingesting or manipulating feces in the mouth |
| Drink urine | Licking or ingesting urine |
| Feces paint | Smearing and/or rubbing feces on a surface |
| Food smear | Spreading of chewed food on a surface with the mouth; food is often licked off |
| Hair-eat | Chewing or ingestion of hair |
| Regurgitate | The backward flow of already swallowed food |
| Wiggle digits | Repeated movement of fingers or toes usually at, in, or around the mouth, often associated with regurgitation |
a
Repetitive = a minimum of 3 times.
b
Self-injurious behavior (i.e., self-bite) was placed in the category of self-directed behavior due to its low occurrence.