Effects of enclosure size and complexity on the activity and sleep of the eastern chipmunk Tamias striatus

Abstract

The activity and sleep of six male and six female wild trapped eastern chipmunks, Tamias striatus, were observed in small simple cages and larger more complex aquaria. The animals were observed for 24 consecutive hr, and their behavior was categorized into one of six mutually exclusive categories. The results show that the circadian placement of sleep was modified by alterations in enclosure size and complexity, while percentage of time asleep and all measures of activity were unaltered.