Diabetes testing in rodents

• STEP 1
  Collect urine sample. Grab a transport box and put the animal you want to test. Remember that you can first clean the bin where you put the animal in without cleaning agents but just rinse with hot water so that it is nice and clean and nothing can affect the test. Pay attention! You have to carry out the test as soon as possible. The urine must not be more than one hour old. Then wait patiently until the animal has done its job, this can sometimes take a while. It is best to test the animal in the morning or in the evening before waking up.
  
  
• STEP 2
  Grab the diastix. Open the package and take 1 test strip and then close the packaging properly.
  
  
• STEP 3
  If all goes well, the animal has left a pee in front of you .... If so, take the strip and dip the test zone of the strip in the urine. The test strip must be held at the plastic end, not at the test zone. You do not have to keep the test strip in the urine for a long time. Two seconds is enough (in and out).
  
  
• STEP 4
  Compare the test zone of the reagent strip exactly 30 seconds after moisturizing with the color scale for glucose values.

When we look at the right picture, we see that one of them is discolored. Unfortunately, the hamster with this strip has diabetes.

The kidneys secrete small amounts of glucose by default. These quantities are usually below the sensitivity level of this test, but may occasionally produce a color. If the strip is still discolored after 30 seconds, you can ignore this.

The test can be influenced by the following factors:

• Nutrition (increases the sugar level)
• Lack of nutrition (the sugar level drops)
• Time of the day
  The concentration of glucose is at its lowest just before it starts to get dark and at most just before it becomes light.
• Winter sleep / Winter paralysis
• Stress
  If an animal has stress, the sucker mirror shoots up
• Narcosis
  Increases the sugar level also significantly (doubling the value)