Jun 02, 2026

Fecal sample collection from mice

DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.rm7vz4d9rlx1/v1
  • 1Department of pharmacology and physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal;
  • 2Neural Signaling and Circuitry research group (SNC);
  • 3Center for Interdisciplinary Research on the Brain and Learning (CIRCA);
  • 4Institut Courtois d’innovation biomédicale;
  • 5Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815;
  • 6Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Amandine Even
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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.rm7vz4d9rlx1/v1
Protocol Citation: Amandine Even, Sriparna Mukherjee, Louis-Eric Trudeau 2026. Fecal sample collection from mice . protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.rm7vz4d9rlx1/v1
License: This is an open access  protocol  distributed under the terms of the  Creative Commons Attribution License,  which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: April 21, 2026
Last Modified: June 02, 2026
Protocol  Integer ID: 315474
Keywords: fecal sample collection from mice, fecal sample collection, cytokines measurement, mice, scfa
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson's
Grant ID: ASAP-000525
Abstract
Fecal sample collection from mice to use for SCFA or cytokines measurement.
Materials
- 1.6mL eppendorf tubes
- Clean and empty cages (one per animal)
- Dry ice
- A precision scale
- Forceps
- A small beaker
- Ethanol
- Kimwipes
Set up the experiment
Label dry eppendorf 1.6 mL tubes.
Weight them with a precision scale.
Place the tubes on dry ice.
Prepare one clean and empty cage per animal (without food, water or bedding).
Label each cage with the tag of the animal to avoid confusion later on.
Prepare a beaker with ethanol and kimwipes to clean forceps between each collection to avoid contamination between samples.
Collection
Place mice in their respective cages.
Collect all fecal pellets produced with forceps.
Tranfer them directly in the tube on dry ice.
Try to harvest them quickly as soon as they appear to prevent them from drying out.
Do not collect pellets that were in urine or dried up pellets.
The collection can be performed within a set time or to reach a sufficient number of pellets for subsequent studies.
Clean and dry the forceps between each collection.
Weight the tube with the pellets and calculate the weight of the pellet for subsequent normalization.
Be careful to minimize humidity due to dry ice.
Quickly store tubes into -80 °C until analysis.