If you want to have a monkey, weigh the pros and cons. After reading the recommendations, advice, you will understand whether you can provide the animal with good living conditions, proper care and proper nutrition at home. If you decide to keep a monkey at home, then you must evaluate your capabilities. Macaques are wild creatures, they need certain living conditions. You need to know what to feed the animal, where to live it, how to care for it. If you can do all this, you can buy a monkey that will become a full member of the family.
First of all, you need to know which monkey breeds are suitable for keeping at home
It is most preferable to settle a Javanese or Rhesus monkey. You can buy a Japanese macaque, but a Chinese or Ceylon macaque in captivity is not as resistant to disease as the Javanese rhesus, but it has a calmer disposition than the above breeds. But monkeys are not cheap, so it is better not to take macaques with less strong immunity.
- The price of the Yavansky Macaque in Russia is from 50 to 80 thousand rubles and up to 180 thousand.
- The price of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in Russia is about 90 thousand rubles.
So, the preferred breeds of monkeys for keeping at home are Rhesus and Javanese, let's dwell on the story about them in more detail.
Rhesus macaque
The rhesus monkey is also called bunder (lat. Macaca mulatta). An adult grows up like a fox terrier dog. The weight of an adult macaque is 3, 2 × 3, 6 kg. The animal's coat is brown-yellow, with bright red growths on the seat.
In the wild, these macaques live in tribes, the number of monkeys in them can reach up to 150 individuals. They are led by a leader. If for some reason it is not there, then the number of conflicts in the flock increases. In this case, primates can make various sounds - scream, squeak, growl.
Pregnancy in females lasts 165 days, then they give birth to one, and less often two cubs weighing 300–650 g. Until a year, the mother feeds the baby with breast milk, and with her he is 6 or more years.
Rhesus monkeys enter puberty upon reaching 2, 5–3 years. Females have reproductive function up to 18–22 years of age, after which menopause occurs.
If you want to keep such a monkey at home, you need to take it when the monkey is still small, since an adult is less adaptable to new conditions and can show its angry and quarrelsome character.
It is necessary to treat a pet, depending on the situation, affectionately or strictly, then you can teach the monkey tricks, as is done in a circus. Therefore, quite often you can see not only in circuses, but also in summer in open areas in parks, as a rhesus monkey, under the guidance of its trainer, dancing to music or doing other funny things.
Javan macaque
The second name of these monkeys is crab-eating macaque (Latin Macaca fascicularis), but crabs are not its main food. Above, the animal's coat is brown, and closer to the bottom it is gray. According to the variety of color, there are 2 types of Javanese macaques. The first has yellow-brown hair, the second has it darker and the face of these monkeys is black. An adult animal reaches an average height of 60 cm. The weight of an adult male is 4.5–8.5 kg, and that of a female is 2.7–3.8 kg.
In the photo, Javanese macaques in a diaper Javanese macaques are quite unpretentious, so this particular breed is often kept at home. In the southern regions, an aviary and an insulated barn are enough for monkeys to live. Another argument in favor of this species is that they quickly become tame, however, there are cases when a benevolent animal dramatically changes its behavior - it becomes aggressive and can bite a person.
Monkey room
Whatever breed you buy a monkey, it must be kept in a cage or aviary. To do this, you can fence off part of the room for her. When you let the monkey walk around the room, apartment, you must vigilantly look after it, otherwise the mischievous woman can tear, ruin things, books. If she comes across an aquarium on the way, it is likely that the pet will want to eat snails, fish, which she will catch from it.
An inquisitive animal can open water taps, gas burners, and start household appliances. Therefore, for the safety of people and the monkeys themselves, these animals need mandatory supervision when you release the primate from the cage to walk around the house. If in one part of the room there will be a monkey's cage, then in the other - a larger one, maybe its walking area. From here you will take out everything that is valuable, beating and what it can break. It is convenient to give the monkey a whole room for the reason that the monkeys can be quite noisy, and so they will bother the owner and his family less. When choosing a room for a monkey, you need to know that the temperature in it must be at least + 22 ° C, it must be dry and sufficiently light.
When deciding which cage a monkey needs, remember that the animal is mobile. He needs to jump, move around, so the monkey cage should be spacious and strong.
The pull-out metal tray makes it easier to care for the macaque. Large shavings, clean river sand are poured onto its bottom. And you don't need to put paper, newspapers, so the animal will tear them into small pieces.
Don't forget that monkeys are pretty smart. Therefore, the cage must be nickel-plated, all-metal, welded from a thick mesh. If it is a team, on screws, then, while family members are at work, study, an intelligent animal can disassemble this structure and break free. Then the consequences can be quite unpleasant. In this regard, the door must also close well so that the primate cannot open it - it is better to lock it with a key.
In the summer, you can take the monkey with you to the dacha, to the village and keep there in an aviary. The garden aviary is built on a foundation. Its area should be at least 9 sq. m. A metal mesh is pulled over a frame made of beams. For small primates, its cross-section should be 2 x 2 cm, for large ones 5 x 5 cm. The net is pulled from three sides, from the fourth, northern one, the aviary is adjacent to the structure. The roof can be made single or gable, covered with slate, roofing felt or other roofing material. The door is made quite high so that a person can freely pass through it.
Inside the cage, the aviary should have several perches so that the animal can rest on them. You can put inside the enclosure and fix well the felled and processed tree, the monkey will climb up and down on it, entertaining himself and others.
Drinking bowls, bowls for food are also necessary items that should be in a cage or aviary. Hang a small mirror on the wall, examining yourself in it, the macaque will also amuse not only itself, but also those who will be watching it.
Monkey food
If you do not know what to feed the monkeys, then read this section.
In the diet, the listed species of monkeys are not very picky, they can eat the same foods as humans. Of course, you cannot give them fried, smoked, spicy foods. The basis of the diet should be plant foods. Cook rice milk porridge for the animal, give him white bread with milk. Boiled potatoes seasoned with vegetable oil are also useful for monkeys, they enjoy such a dish with pleasure.
Monkeys are fed with cabbage, beets, carrots, tomatoes, turnips. They are given boiled legumes, corn. In winter, for the prevention of diseases, offer your pet feathers and onion heads.
In the photo, a monkey is eating a coconut. Healthy primates have an excellent appetite, so you do not need to overfeed them. You can determine the daily rate for your animal empirically. Food is given to animals at the rate of 3–4 times a day. Scientists have developed a composition of compound feed for monkeys that is perfectly balanced. Here's what it includes:
- 36% meal;
- 24% corn flour;
- 13% cod fish meal;
- 10% sugar;
- 8% wheat bran;
- 4% refined soybean oil;
- 3% mineral mixture;
- 2% vitamins.
But it is not so easy to find such a compound feed on the market, so the monkey owners, replacing one ingredient with another, prepare balanced food for their wards themselves. So, instead of flour, sugar and cereals - 2 times a week, primates are given boiled potatoes. Dried fruits, eggshell powder (as a mineral mixture), vitamins, vegetable or butter are added to milk rice porridge.
Insects should be part of the monkey's diet. These can be mealworms, silkworm pupae, May beetles.
Caring for monkeys at home
So that there is no unpleasant smell in the apartment, clean the animal's cage every day. When doing this, see if it is hiding food. Such stocks must be thrown away.
You can put diapers on monkeys and change them like a small child
But they must be removed at night. Monkeys are washed 2 times a day. In the evening, after removing the diaper, bathe the animal in a bathtub or in a basin of warm water using a tear-free baby shampoo. After that, dry it well and let it dry in a warm place. In the morning, the animal needs to be bathed again, and then put on a diaper.
When keeping monkeys, it is important to know that they get used to the daily routine well. If you want to drastically change it, the animal can be stressed. The appearance of a new person, sharp sounds, flashes of light can lead to this. From all this, the monkey can become aggressive.
Therefore, do not make sudden movements near the animal, speak with him affectionately, do not shout. Strictly, but calmly and quietly, you can speak only when the animal does something wrong.
With good treatment, your pet will treat you well, understand what you want from him and be calm and agreeable.
Video, monkey in the house, how to contain:
