By Janice Metzger
This recipe for homemade monkey biscuits is packed with good, healthy nutrition for your primate. Sure, our monkey friends could live on just dry biscuits and water, but the addition of healthful foods to their diet contributes not only to their nutritional health, but to their enrichment and quality of life as well. Primates are like us, enjoying a variety of food items.
It was the summer of 2015 and after finally being settled into our new home, it was time to apply for an USDA license so I could exhibit Benji to others and get him a buddy. Monkeys are very social animals and don’t like being by themselves. I work full-time but am lucky enough to be able to work from home. Benji has access to my home office so he can visit me any time and he often spends hours in my office but having a buddy is still a lot better than just being able to see me during the day. We spend time every day together but that isn’t until after work or during my lunch break.
By Mary Lynn Campbell
When I look at this photo of our “Miss Opie,” my smile (inside and out) is for her unbelievable ability to surprise us at every turn as she did with this photo. Welcome once again to our monthly post here on the Primate Care site. This is the story of a re-homed girl monkey with a boy’s name, I must add that it took several days to finally get her permission to talk about her in this post. She is definitely a girl monkey who has a mind of her own!
When I went to pick up Opie from her previous owners, she let me know instantly that she was ready to be my monkey. Her eyes were full of acceptance and awe. She had a wonderful home with her owners but after experiencing life with her they felt she needed to be with other monkeys and wanted her to have an opportunity to bond with my troop.
She is smart and beautiful but there is a list of “nutty” things about her that is a mile long! Many of the things that have made up her list have been caused by a sketchy early background that we have been trying to piece together.
By Mary Lynn Campbell
Opie ( age 11) – this monkey asked to not be spoken about in this post due to her “very nutty behaviors.”
When I think of “nutty monkeys” many memories from the past 27 years come floating across my mind. Oh, the stories I could tell! We will also be talking about toys in this post too. But before we get to some important information about toys, I feel that the rest of the story about Casper from my last posting here on the Primate Care Site, would be the first story to start with for this posting.
Many of the toys. primate enrichment devices, monkey diaper covers and clothes used by primate owners are handmade. Thanks to social media, the creators of such products have the ability to market their products to a limited community. Unfortunately on social media your audience is very limited and as a buyer, it can be quite challenging to figure out who is selling what, plus can you really trust the seller? Primatestore.com is trying to close that gap.
By Mary Lynn Campbell
Silly Willy ( 9 weeks old)
The star of the “Living With Monkey” books
Hi, everyone, well, here it is, the long awaited posting on the Primate Care site that will tell you if you need to add another monkey into your home. Yes, I, Mary Lynn, actually have the answer for all of you who are struggling with your decision.
I wish I could take credit for what I am about to say but I cannot do it. This was not my idea at all, it actually belongs to another experienced monkey caregiver who has added many different types of monkeys into her life and into the life of her troop.
By Mary Lynn Campbell
Enjoying little Cheech (age 43)
This is the first posting of our “Special Topics” here at Primate Care. I was drawn to write about this topic due to the fact that I am now living with three older monkeys of my own. One of them is a soon to be twenty year old Common Marmoset, and I have a thirty-three year old Black-Cap Capuchin and then the oldest monkey in my troop is a Paraguayan Capuchin that is around forty-three. Much of my experience for the past 27 years has been with receiving monkeys who have been younger monkeys.
By Mary Lynn Campbell
“Sissy Lou La La” (age 18) – one of my very special rehomed monkeys
Here we are with yet another hard subject to write about. Each of these postings have been written with one very important thing in mind and that is to be helpful to both current monkey caregivers and others who may be seriously considering becoming one.
Rehoming a monkey is not always an easy thing to do, especially when you or your family members are divided about doing this. Monkeys are as different in their size, personalities and their behaviors as we humans are. One monkey may really make a great pet/family member and then one may not adjust in your home or family at all.
I have been on the receiving end of rehomed monkeys for nearly 27 years. Many monkeys have come from homes where they have been dearly loved and the parting was a very hard thing to do. I most cases people were just so glad that they had a safe and happy home for them to live. There are so many different reasons why people decide to rehome their monkeys.
I wanted to talk to you about one of Benji’s favorite enrichment feeders. The goal of this feeder is mainly to prolong feeding time. I build this enrichment feeder over a year ago and as you can tell, it is still in great condition. Since this feeder is made out of PVC, it is not only very durable but it can also be kept clean rather easily. So how does a feeder like did provide any enrichment to your monkey(s)?
Due to the fact that your monkey can’t really see what is in the feeder, he’ll have to dig through the holes to find out what is on the bottom. I typically fill this feeder with seeds, nuts, popcorn, dried fruits and sometimes also mealworms. To prolong feeding time even more, you can also fill it up with things like straw or paper to slow down the retrieval process. You could even drop in an entire banana, just make sure you wash the peel first.
It really isn’t hard to make this primate enrichment feeder, so let’s get started!
By Mary Lynn Campbell
Penny, my first monkey (age 4)
Welcome again to our monthly post about Safety-First. This time we are talking about “How To Choose A Monkey Vet.” This particular subject, when I was thinking about it, seemed to be an easy subject to write about but as I researched it more, I realized that it was a little harder than I thought.
Many times right before or during the time that I am writing one of these posts a situation will come up that puts me smack dab into the situation that I am writing a post about. This is exactly what has happened again.
The photo above is a photo of my first monkey that I purchased which will soon to be 27 years ago. I hope you also will enjoy this next photo too.