Each animal will receive a unique ID with the format AA.cZZZ.XXX.YY

1. AA: Year animal joined the lab [2 digits]
2. ZZZ: Cage number for animal [3 digits]
3. XXX: Number of the animal in the current year [3 digits]
4. YY: Number of animal in the cohort in which it arrived [up to two digits]

The animal ID 22.c024.098.14 refers to an animal that

1. joined the lab colony in 2022
2. was in cage number 24
3. was the 98th animal for the year 2022
4. and was rat number 14 in its cohort.

Note that on January 1 each year, all animal and cage numbers will reset to 0.

The unique animal ID will be used to cross reference all animal related data and documents held in the lab. The animal numbers will be listed in the animal database spreadsheet, where it is also noted in what experiments the animal participated.