Laboratory Animal Resources is excited to announce the launch of a new software system, Mosaic Vivarium, for animal census management. This new software will provide a real-time management solution to help LAR automate and streamline census taking and make invoice billing more efficient. As we transition to a new system, there will undoubtedly be some unforeseen challenges. Please bring your concerns to our attention. Laboratory Animal Resources is committed to working through these issues as quickly as possible. Below is a list of frequently asked questions to assist investigators in the transition to Mosaic Vivarium.

Why is a software solution for census management needed?

Prior to the August 1, 2023, implementation of Mosaic Vivarium, LAR performed manual census counts each Wednesday. With once-weekly manual counts, there was always the possibility of counting errors or that cages were not in the vivarium at the time of the census and, therefore, not counted. The new software eliminates the chance of these errors and the time-consuming process of manual counts.

How does Mosaic Vivarium work?

Laboratory Animal Resources personnel will no longer perform manual cage counts. Each rodent cage will be provided a barcoded cage card. Your existing cage cards will not be removed. You have likely seen the new barcoded cards. These bar codes are unique to each cage and must always remain visible. When taking the census, LAR personnel will scan the unique barcode to identify each cage. Cage scans will be performed on Wednesdays. Even if a cage is not physically present in the vivarium during the scan, per diem charges for the cage will continue until the cage card is deactivated.

How do I deactivate a cage card or remove a cage from the census?

When a cage needs to be deactivated and removed from the census, for example, if all animals in a cage have been used or euthanized, the barcoded card must be deposited into one of the card return boxes conveniently located in each building. Card return box locations by building are listed below.

BRF - at the northeast exit nearest the LAR Assistant Director’s office.

COM - at the technician station between rooms 190 and 191

KIN - at the exit door

PDB - on each floor next to the cage cards and stickers

MAG - on the wall under the gown dispenser

Laboratory Animal Resources personnel will collect cards by 10 AM daily. Cage cards returned after 10 AM will not be collected or removed from the census until the next day; thus, per diem charges for the day will be incurred. The onus is on laboratory personnel to ensure cage cards are returned for deactivation to prevent continuing per diem charges.

What happens if I misplace or fail to deactivate a barcode?

Barcoded cage cards must never be discarded as trash. If you lose or fail to deactivate a barcode, please contact Jaime (jwhitejames@fsu.edu) or Desiree (ddescartes@fsu.edu) immediately. Per diem charges for the cage will continue until the cage card is deactivated.

My cage card has important information that I need to keep for my records. How can I deactivate a card and keep this information?

Investigators that wish to maintain cage cards for recordkeeping purposes may do so. To do so, simply cut the portion of the card with the sticker and return this portion of the card return box to deactivate cages. Please do not attempt to peel the sticker for the cage card, as this may make the barcode unreadable.

Will new barcodes replace standard LAR cage cards?

No. LAR will continue to make available the standard cage card depicted below. No changes will be made to the standard card. The unique bar code will be printed on a sticker, as shown. The sticker with the printed barcode will be affixed to the standard cage card.

Will other printed LAR cage cards, such as surgery and breeder cards, still be available?

Yes.

Can my laboratory design our own unique cage card?

Investigators wishing to design unique cage cards for their laboratory's use should contact LAR. Unique cage cards must contain all information required by the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Unique cage cards must allow sufficient space for placement of the 1 1/8 in x 3 1/2 barcode stickers in a horizontal orientation.

How do I get a barcode for newly weaned animals, cage separations, or protocol transfers?

Barcodes should not be moved from one cage to another. Barcodes are unique to each cage. For newly weaned animals, cage separations, and protocol transfers, investigators should continue to place a standard cage card on the cage. All information requested on the standard cage card should be legibly printed. The date of weaning, cage separation, or protocol transfer should be entered as the “Date Received.” Within 48 business hours, LAR personnel will affix a unique barcode sticker in the uppermost left corner of the standard cage card.

When I move males into a female cage for breeding, there are two cage cards on the single cage. Currently, I am only billed for one cage. If there are two barcoded cage cards on the cage (and neither is deactivated), how will billing work? Will I now be charged for two cages instead of one?

Yes, per diem charges will be incurred for both cages. Per diem charges will accrue from the time a cage card is generated or the “date received” written on the standard cage card, whichever occurs first, until the time the cage card is returned for deactivation. This allows for cost recovery on each cage used.

How will Mosaic Vivarium affect per diem invoicing?

Prior to Mosaic implementation, LAR invoices were manually generated using a Microsoft Excel workbook developed in-house. The new Mosaic solution will automatically generate invoices. The appearance of Mosaic invoices will differ from previous LAR-generated invoices. Weekly cage counts will no longer be displayed. Instead, Mosaic invoices will report cage days. For any investigators wishing to convert cage days to cage counts, simply divide the number of cage days by the number of days in the month.

My monthly per diem charges have changed. Why?

Because the census will now be collected in real-time, LAR can determine an accurate daily census, which may increase some investigators' monthly per diem charges. Investigators that notice errors in their billing should still bring these errors to the attention of the LAR Business Manager. LAR will provide a one-month grace period for investigators to become accustomed to returning and deactivating cage cards. For the billing cycle beginning September 1, 2023, LAR will not make billing adjustments for cage cards that were not returned and deactivated.  Conversely, some investigators may notice a decrease in per diem charges since a weekly census will not be used to calculate per diem charges for seven days.

My Mosaic invoice only lists one account number. Can my LAR charges still be split-funded?

Laboratory Animal Resources encourages all investigators to associate a single funding source with each animal cage. For the limited instances where split funding is unavoidable, LAR will still accommodate these requests. To request split funding following receipt of the invoice, please email lar-accounting@fsu.edu.