A contact eatometer for automated continuous recording of feeding behavior in rats.

A new contact eatometer designed and built in our laboratory is described. The system makes possible the reliable continuous recording of feeding behavior in rats from the time of weaning, without significantly affecting food intake- and growth-related variables. Improved time discrimination and reliability of records--along with the small financial outlay necessary to manufacture the device--make the system appropriate for chronobiological studies which involve the simultaneous use of a large number of animals.