Some of today’s pet monkeys are not so much pets as they are helpers. The monkey used is nearly always a Capuchin, they are taken as infants and raised with people and later trained to help handicapped people, usually quadriplegics. They can open bottles and microwave food as well as preforming some other tasks.
Capuchin monkeys are one of the smarter species of monkey, they are quick learners, with fewer tendencies towards dangerous violence. As such they were found to be better pets than some of the larger monkey species. This is not to say they cannot be violent, only that their smaller size makes them less dangerous.
In nature they may only live 15 years, this lifespan can be prolonged by keeping them as pets to over 30 years. In the wild they live in groups of more than a dozen members, and they have territorial boundaries, this too is changed drastically when we keep them as pets.
But the biggest change happens for these pet monkeys at a young, young age.
Kittens and puppies are often removed from their parents between six and eight weeks of age. Some areas have laws stating they cannot be sold before these ages. In monkeys the situation is more tragic. In nature a young monkey would stay with its mother for years. In fact the mother would usually not have a second offspring until the other has reached two years of age.
In the exotic pet industry baby Capuchin monkeys are torn from their mothers usually at two weeks of age, sometimes even at one day old. This is done reportedly so the baby can bond with its new owner. It also results in the ability of the breeder to rebreed her so she produces more baby monkeys at an unnatural rate.
Sold for high prices, and placed in new homes, we can only wonder what the survival rate is for these young, terrified, animals. They are illegal in some countries and states, but smuggled in even still. Monkeys kept in areas where they are illegal will not receive veterinarian care.
As pets they are often kept in diapers as they cannot be toilet trained. Many are treated as life-long babies. They are dressed in “cute” baby outfits and pushed around in strollers. Their lives are forced to fit into human society far more than we expect from cats and dogs.
Many monkey owners become fed up with their pets constant need for attention. Neglected monkeys become violent, and messy.
Before getting a monkey, ask yourself these questions:
- Are they legal where I live?
- Do I have 24 hours a day to devote to an intelligent pet?
- Are veterinarians in my area familiar with monkeys?
- Do I have space to allow it to play freely or will I confine it to my lifestyle?
- Do I have funds to care for this expensive animal?
- Am I prepared for a 30+ year commitment?
- Is it fair to rip a baby monkey from its mother at 2 weeks of age?
- Why do I want this pet?
- Is this to be a service animal, a pet, or a permanent baby?
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User Comments
raman13
On October 7, 2009 at 4:52 am
excellent
Katien
On October 7, 2009 at 5:56 am
That is so sad. I am always amazed at how animals are so abused, but then when you consider how humans treat other humans I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.
martie
On October 7, 2009 at 8:29 am
I would not want to own a pet that was torn from it’s mother so young. I have seen how a mother animal mouns the loss of their young ones and it is sad.
lillyrose
On October 7, 2009 at 8:38 am
Leave them alone I say. Let them be wild and live with their families.
A good article and it should be brought to more peoples attention.
papaleng
On October 7, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Nice article but I may say monkeys are best where they are comfortable, in the wild.
B Nelson
On October 7, 2009 at 2:12 pm
A monkey was never a pet I grew up wanting, and probably one I would refuse to own unless it had been orphaned through natural circumstances, but even then I would prefer it to be kept by somebody more monkey friendly!
ken bultman
On October 7, 2009 at 7:53 pm
A great list of questions at the end. Monkeys were offered for sale on the back cover of some comic books when I was a kid.
Ruby Hawk
On October 7, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Oh, it’s so sad that the young monkeys are taken away so soon.
Ranveer Singh Battu
On October 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
i love animals!!!! its so sad that humans kill them for their greed and pleasure..
Goatslayer
On October 13, 2009 at 7:44 pm
sources? this is dumb. How do you know all this? are you a monkey breeder?
Mark Gordon Brown
On October 14, 2009 at 12:41 pm
to Goatslayer
For sources its very easy, call anyone selling monkey babies – the usual age is 2 weeks, they claim its so they bond better, but monkeys are intelligent animals they will bond later too, much like a dog, so this practice is entirely cruel. Watch the Show “My Monkey Baby” if you are not convinced or ask anyone who works in animal rescue (its pretty much common knowledge).
Denice
On October 15, 2009 at 9:09 pm
For the record it is very true and correct that infant monkeys are taken from their parents at a very young age.
Typically the buyers dont care and actually demand younger and younger ones all the time.
ZooKeeper
On January 14, 2010 at 1:58 pm
your information is wrong, post the truth or nothing at all.
its makes me sick to see someone make something out to be tragic when its not even going the way you said it is.
Mark Gordon Brown
On January 14, 2010 at 10:09 pm
to ZooKeeper, specifically what part are you calling wrong? In the PET TRADE this is true, perhaps in the zoo trade it is not. I see it all the time at the exotic pet shows, talk to any breeder and many will be willing to sell baby monkeys. I have yet to meet anyone that insists the babies remain with their mothers two years, which is what would happen in nature.
To prove a point I did a quick goggle search, the first site that popped up
http://www.babymonkeysforadoption.com/
shows a baby monkey that is certainly under 1 month of age. its not hard to prove that this information is CORRECT and SOUND!
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