By Marlene Bezuidenhout
Mealworms are a good source of protein and they contain twelve of the sixteen elements found in living tissue. They are rich in vitamin A which is essential for growth and rich in vitamin B which is necessary for maintaining the nervous system. The better you feed your mealworms the higher quality food you produce for your monkeys. (more…)
Marmosets and Bushbabies are known to be gum feeders. With their sharp teeth they gnaw holes in trees to get the gum. In the wild they spend 1/3 of their time doing this. Besides the fact that “it will keep them busy for a while”, it’s also a source of energy, calcium and other minerals. It is known that also other species like squirrels or tamarins like arabic gum.
You can buy arabic gum at sites that sell backery products.
Mix one part of powder with two parts of water. After two to three hours it’s ready for distribution. Drill some holes into wood (like branches or bamboo) and fill them with this prepared gum.
5 Recipes with Arabic Gum from a big breeder :
By Tracy Williams
The lemur species that I care for are Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), Black lemurs (Eulemur macaco macaco), and Black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata). We have discovered hemosiderosis in all of them, some much more affected than others. (Ringtailed lemurs don’t seem to have as much of a problem with this disease as other lemur species.)
I am not a veterinarian, but I will try to explain the disease to you as our zoo vets did to me. Most captive lemur diets contain alot more iron than what a wild lemur would consume in it’s natural habitat. The iron leaves their blood circulation and is stored in their organs (particularly the liver), where it stays permanently. Here it can cause severe tissue damage, over time. There is no way to get rid of the iron that is “stored” in their tissues once it is there.
Wild lemurs’ diets contain alot of tannin. Tannin helps their bodies prevent the iron storage. On the other hand, vitamin C promotes the iron storage. (more…)
By Dr. Hannah Buchanan-Smith
The author discusses the three main criteria which constitute a good captive environment. They are: good physical health, breeding success, and an animal’s ability to acquire and retain behavioral skills needed to cope successfully with his or her natural environment. Through her field studies, the author has learned that a variety in diet, innovative foraging devices, indoor/outdoor enclosures, natural settings, and a comfortable social environment are vital for the well-being of captive primates. She illustrates how altering conditions can promote natural behaviors in captive marmosets and tamarins. (more…)
By Ivan Crab
During recent years, the feeding of PRIMATES has undergone significant changes, as more has been discovered about their nutritional needs. The pets market of today provide different “monkey pellets” , pelleted diets they are usually well balanced but they can not by given at the expense of a varied diet.
It is no coincidence that when breeding began in earnest during the 1950s, it was the OLD WORLD species which reproduced most successfully in collections. This is because MONKEYS such as the MACACA species were best-suited to thrive and breed on a diet composed of little more than vegetables and fruits.
The needs of other species are more complex. Certainly in captivity they thrive when offered a diet which contains a relatively high proportion of vegetables and fruit. (more…)
It is known among big breeders and it’s time that you know it too. Marmosets, Tamarins or Owl monkeys cannot be put together with squirrel monkeys.
Squirrel monkeys are the carrier of the herpes saimiri virus, which is deadly for marmosets, tamarins and owl monkeys. Once they are infected, death can occur within 24 hours. A squirrel monkey who carries herpes saimiri, doesn’t show any symptoms and unfortunately testing for this virus are not conclusive.
A big breeder told me once that he lost a whole colony of marmosets within a few days caused by this virus although his squirrels and marmosets were housed far from each other.
The problem is that you cannot see the virus. It can be spread by handling the food, dishes or toys touched by a squirrel monkey. Just walking from one cage to the other can cause the infection already. (more…)
it’s Motherday today so mission number one today is to make sure Pami, my wife, has all the peace she deserves. Benji is therefore going to spent the entire day with his monkey dad. Right now he’s up in our bedroom together with me, jumping from my shoulders to the bed and the dresser. He’s leaping 7 feet with ease with these jumps and does it at a speed most people without monkeys would not be able to comprehend.
Remember how Benji used to have nose bleeds? That stopped a few months ago. We used humidifiers for a while but that didn’t really seem to make that much of a difference. I guess the nosebleeds just slowly went away.