Health concerns for owners and veterinarians

Pet marmoset monkeys should have annual physical exams and stool cultures. It is important that your vet specifically request culturing for Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter,and Yersinia. Feces should be examined for protozoa, such as Giardia species. Blood work may be indicated.

ALWAYS use a hand sanitizer before handling an infant

Humans with viral infections should not be allowed near marmosets as a safety precaution. Measles can also be fatal to your marmoset. If your marmoset will be around children, it should be vaccinated against measles.

Human cold sores, caused by the Herpes simplex virus, are extremely dangerous to marmosets and may cause a fatal encephalitis. It is important to realize that you don’t have to have an active herpetic lesion in order to transmit the virus to your marmoset. Contracting herpes from a human cold sore for a baby marmoset up to a year old is deadly and only takes 5 days to kill your baby marmoset. Your marmoset will start developing signs of illness (usually 3 days after exposure). Older marmosets do not appear as susceptible to this infection however, that does not mean that people can be careless.

Humans with HIV or other immune system suppressing diseases should probably not own primates due to the risk of transmission of a zoonotic disease to them by their pet.

Vitamin D3 - Sunlight and Metabolic Bone Disease

MBD is associated with a lack of unfiltered sunlight and inadequate vitamin D3 in the diet. Vitamin D, commonly referred to as the sunshine vitamin, plays an important role in health. It is the only vitamin that can be made by the body from sunshine.

Marmosets, like humans need sunlight to make and metabolize vitamin D. You can feed the best diet but without the right light to help metabolize that diet a marmoset will NOT survive.

Signs of the disease is pale face, reluctance to move, jump, climb, depression, loss of hair, angular bend in tails, bowed legs, rickets, tremors that will progress into seizures, paralysis and death. One of the most important items to ensure the health of a marmoset is the proper lighting.

Light through a window is not enough, they need sunlight and / or a full spectrum UVA/UVB Mercury Vapor lamp attacked to his/her cage.

The Web, your best friend and worst enemy

The web is not edited to filter out what’s accurate and what’s myth or rumor.. Sites like ours do our absolute best to give you what we have learned from credible sources such as breeders, vets and zoological sources, and of course from working with monkeys.

BUT there is a lot on the web that’s not accurate. If in any doubt whatsoever ask your veterinary or your local Fish and Wildlife Department.. We suggest you don’t take risks, try to validate what you learn with credible sources before you expose your babies to it, but also don’t panic.. There are people around to help