ESSENTIALS OF MARMOSET AND TAMARIN CARE

Here is a short list of some of the most common issues to be aware of when raising a baby Marmoset or Tamarin.  It’s not all by any means but its many of the most important ones.

1. Aspiration

When bottle feeding, lean the baby slightly forward so any excess feed drains from the mouth. Never feed with the head backwards. Make sure there isn’t feed or other blockages on the nose.. if so wipe clean first. if the baby starts to choke and tries to breathe with feed on the nose, they will suck it into the lungs and aspirate.. this can be deadly. . Feed slowly and keep the tip of the syringe below the nose, pausing to make sure baby can breathe well.. Feeding too slowly is infinitely safer than an aspirating monkey..
ALWAYS check the feed for temperature on your wrist.. aiming for approximately body temperature, cooler is safer than too warm.

2. Water

Do not ever feed the animal water from a water softener or well water that hasn’t been through a reverse osmosis process, or use it in the feed. If in any doubt whatsoever use plain bottled water

3. Cleanliness

Particularly when they are babies, wash your hands and use a hand sanitizer before handling them and make sure others do the same. Allow the alcohol and chemical fumes from the hand sanitizer to dissipate before handling them as its quite strong.
Bleach products leave a residue and so never use it on their cages or toys. We recommend using Peroxide and Vinegar mix.. don’t leave it mixed just mix it in a spray bottle before use, both products are safe for the animals.
We have had a monkey have a very severe reaction to lying on a surface cleaned with cleaning wipes so we don’t use them.

3. Stimulation

Young babies need stimulation to go to the bathroom or they can become dangerously constipated or compacted or get internal problems. As a rule you shouldn’t be getting a baby younger than 5 weeks, by which time they are going to the bathroom on their own, but sadly some breeders do sell them younger.. So if they aren’t regular, stimulation can help when they are very young. The mother would gently stimulate their genitals to make this happen, so we use damp Qtip to gently do the same, emphasis on gently !. If this doesn’t help then there is something else going on, call us or your vet to get advise

4. Carbohydrates

These monkeys can easily get metabolic problems such as diabetes, and they are much more susceptible to it than humans.. When problems start, unlike humans they often can’t recover. We know of far too many monkeys dying from kidney failure due to this.. monkeys that the owner didn’t perceive as too overweight. Everyone we know has fallen for the “I just wanted to give them a treat, and it didn’t seem like much” trap and had to learn this lesson.. In an adult monkey – the size of their boobs ( under the arms ) can be a good indication of excess weight.
Do not equate “love” with treats.. to love your monkey means doing the best for them even if its not what you feel you want to do…
As a rule, stick to a vegetable diet with marmoset mix, canned or dried.. Some fruit ( small amount ) but vary it and only feed high carb foods like banana periodically. Avoid canned food with syrup and added sugars. Do not treat them with sugary treats, this is often where the problems start.. Overall quantity of food is important. We can advise you on diet.

5. Herpes Virus

The cold sore virus that most humans carry can kill a monkey rapidly and there is no way to stop it.. Do not share food or utensils or drinking straws or anything that has been near your mouth and do not kiss them. Wash your hands regularly.

6. Strangling

Monkeys play with anything and sadly many lose toes or limbs or die from strangling.. Do not have anything in the cage that has loops…suspend things from a single strand as they can get an arm or their head into a loop and they will twist if they get stuck and self strangle.
Especially with dressing the monkeys up, be aware this is not natural so try to keep it to a minimum, make sure nothing is tight, be aware of what can catch as they jump and play, and don’t have loops or chains or loose material.
Look carefully at everything and look for strangling or catch hazards and be super safe.. It’s always better to be obsessive about looking for hazards because monkeys are monkeys and will find a way to get into trouble if they can.

7. Choking Hazards

Many monkeys choke so make sure all toys do not have small hard parts that can be bitten off and would prove a choking hazard.

8. Sunlight

Monkeys need sunlight and/or a UV lamp to get vitamin D in order to absorb food properly. if they don’t get it they get weak and will get metabolic problems. this is common. They will get pale and listless and show signs of not moving properly.
Sunlight through a window is not enough as the UV doesn’t usually get through , and too much direct sunlight can be detrimental.. Ideally find a place where they can have access to direct sun but go into the shade when they have had enough. With UV lamps, do not place them too close to the cage and also make sure the monkey can get shade from it when required.
They don’t need a huge amount of sunlight / UV lamp but they do need it every day.
And remember they cannot tolerate cold weather, they are from warm climates so temperature monitoring and control is essential… Our suggestion ( as a guide ) is to use cooling fans at 85 degrees or above and heating to maintain a 75 degree minimum.

9. Falling

Because they’re monkeys we assume they won’t fall… but they do and especially when they’re young.
Start off with playing with your baby on the ground and when they climb onto anything place blankets or towels to soften any potential fall.. Over time they will get more confident but don’t let that fool you, they can still fall.. so be especially careful if you have hard floors until they are fully grown adults.
Start with a small cage and work upwards placing some soft material in the bottom until they are used to the greater height.

10. It’s a monkey

You may want to dress it up, and it will likely let you, but it is a monkey and needs the life of a monkey. Don’t try to make it into a little human, let it teach you about monkeys instead and then it will be happy.. Monkeys are very human-like but not in all ways so the best thing for your new baby is to let him or her teach you and you will have a happy partner.
You are buying a baby but it will grow into an adult monkey. .and upon reaching sexual maturity they can get difficult to handle.. Fear not, often its a phase that can be got through it just takes time and patience.. It can be really worrying when the thing you reared from a baby wants to get aggressive and bites, and sadly too many monkeys get abandoned or just left in their cages when this happens… but in most cases it can be managed.. We will happily give you advise.

11. They need company most of the time

Your monkey will need to be with you, or another monkey most of the time. They are emotional, responsive, tactile creatures and similar to a 3 year old in their need to play and interact. We know of many cases where the owners left the monkey to go on vacation and returned to find a monkey that was extremely stressed, or was aggressive toward them. This little one is like a child and will need you, or you could partner them with another monkey but they need interaction and emotional support or they can and will get depressed.

12. Be super careful of getting advise online.

You can get some of the very best advise online and some of the very worst… and often it’s really hard to differentiate between the two so be very very careful..
We hear so many horror stories of people getting advise and getting into trouble and this is even more prevalent in some of the so called ‘expert’ monkey groups where it is easy to assume that the advise is the best because of the group title. Just because someone has monkeys and seems confident does not mean they are giving you the best advise. We know people who have monkeys and give out dangerous advise on the basis “nothing bad has happened to me so far” but when really doing the research and talking to vets, it is that they have just been lucky so far.

So if you are going to get advise online, who it comes from is hugely important.. Do some research and ask people who they trust and who has been consistent before you decide to risk the health of your animals.. they deserve it

The advise we give will not just be from our personal experience, but from having spoken to people we know who have had monkeys for a long time and have a wealth of demonstrable experience – and who check things out with vets and zoological publications, as do we…. We do not claim to be experts by any means but we will not share any information with you unless it comes from a creditable source and has been proven over time, that it agrees with the veterinary view, and that we can see demonstrated in the monkeys lives…

13. Taking your monkey out

Insect stings can kill them very easily.
Monkeys get into anything they can so watch for them sharing your drinking straw or food, avoid that because of the Herpes virus and watch for things they shouldn’t get in their mouths, choking hazards, unsafe foods, chemicals etc
Some people are very anti primate ownership. We hear of cases where someone made a complaint that a monkey bit them even when its simply not true – in effort to get the animal taken off the owner.
We suggest don’t let people touch or come too near and if anyone were to make a claim like that, immediately take names and contact information of witnesses.

14. Enjoy your monkey

Let them teach you all about themselves, nobody can do that better than they can.