A group of 60 female albino Wistar rats (200–250 g) were obtained from a laboratory animal supplier for studies on sexual behavior. All females were kept in groups of four in wire-bottom cages in a colony room maintained at approximately 21±3 °C on a reversed 12:12 h light/dark cycle with ad libitum access to rat chow and water.
The studies required surgical removal of the ovaries. All the females were anesthetized with ketamine hydrochloride (50 mg/ml) and xylazine hydrochloride (4 mg/ml), mixed at a ratio of 4:3 respectively, and injected intraperitoneally in a volume of 1 ml/kg body weight. Using aseptic technique, the females were then ovariectomized via a lumbar incision and treated with one subcutaneous injection of flunixin meglumine (2.5 mg/kg) for postoperative analgesia, and one injection of enrofloxacin (5 mg/kg) to prevent postsurgical bacterial infection. The animals were checked daily during a 10-day recovery period and complications were not seen.
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