Looking to “Mix” things up in your monkey’s diet? With the weather getting better every day, the monkey shake mix submitted by Mary seems perfect to keep your monkey in great shape. Mary shared that Brandon, her Java Macaque, loves this monkey shake mix and thrives on it!
I guess the proper term for monkey balls would be monkey cereal balls but that’s not what we call them in our house. They’re a pretty healthy snack but can also be fed as part of their main diet. Creativity is key when creating monkey balls. As long as you have the two main ingredient (baby formula and baby cereal) in your mix, you’re golden! I used to feed monkey balls to my marmosets and now my capuchin and they truly enjoy it. I actually got the original recipe (similar to mine but not as creative) from one of the largest zoos in Belgium. They used to feed these monkey balls to all their primates.
As I mentioned in the diet section of this site, it is important you take the necessary time to prepare the diet of your monkey(s) and also to provide a varied diet. While that is all easier said then done, many primate owners often have a hard time coming up with changes in the diet of their monkeys. On top of that, the goal of this blog is to point out that many primate owners often deviate from the suggested ideal diet just like us human primates. While reading this blog, please keep in mind that the goal of this page is only to inform you what others feed their monkeys, not to help you choose the right diet. Special thanks to Irwin for the above picture.
While sprouts do contain excellent nutrients and are often used as part of a monkeys’ diet, they’re truly not recommended for all monkeys.
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 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…)
| Onions : In the group of onions (sulfur compound foods), we include chives, leeks, shallots, scallions, turnips, garlic and even cabbage! |
From time to time we hear the wildest stories about onions. Some people say they are a must in a primates diet, others say they are bad for them. Time for us to set things straight. Why this confusion? It’s simple, onions are good for primates but have a bad effect on a primates body when overdosed. Many things are dangerous when overdosed. The best example here is vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is very important in a primates diet but causes issues when overdosed. Let’s make a comparison and then you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to include onions in your primates diet. (more…)