The origin and home territories of the squirrel saimiri, features of appearance, behavior in nature, reproduction, housekeeping, purchase of the saimiri. In the era of our modernity, humanity with special trepidation and careful scrupulousness treats the choice of everything that they bring or bring to their home. And it doesn't matter at all what it is about. This also applies to a variety of wardrobe items, and cars, and interior elements - all this is very well thought out, often people resort to advice from specialists in a particular field of activity. They are often stylists, interior designers. Basically, there is a basic rule: "The main thing is that no one has this!".
Pets are no exception. Nobody knows for certain, but sometimes one gets the impression that soon the world of pets will turn upside down and in order to see, for no one amazing puppies, kittens or guinea pigs, you will need to go to zoos. And all this for the sole reason that people, in pursuit of new emotions and impressions and the desire to stand out from the crowd, are increasingly giving birth to out-of-the-ordinary pets.
Everyone has completely different tastes and preferences, some dream of spiders or reptiles, and some have little hippos - this is everyone's choice. But if you still want some kind of fluffy little beast, but cannot find yourself someone “just yours”, pay attention to the squirrel simiri.
Today, this monkey is often taken as a four-legged friend, and you can easily watch a large number of different videos with her in the lead role. If, after seeing a miniature monkey, you decide that this is exactly the one you dreamed of, we can confidently say that you will be satisfied with your choice. But, in no case should we forget that this comrade is from the wild, for this reason you need to get to know him better in order to ensure both yourself and him a decent and comfortable stay in your house.
The origin of the squirrel saimiri and home
Squirrel saimiri (lat. Saimiri sciureus), or as it is also called - an ordinary squirrel monkey. The beginning of the story of a kind, these cute little animals are taken from a large family of chain-tailed monkeys and the Saimiri genus. Also, zoological scientists attributed this monkey to the class of mammals and the order of primates.
These animals honor South America with their Fatherland. In order to meet the squirrel monkey in open nature, you need to explore countries such as Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay. Their habitat is dense tropical forests with a relatively high level of humidity. A prerequisite for a long and happy life of saimiri in the wild is the presence of bodies of water near their personal territories. They only avoid high-mountainous areas.
Description of the appearance of the squirrel saimiri
It should be noted that this monkey naturally inherited a relatively small size. The length of its body is about 25–35 cm, and as for the tail, it tends to grow a little more - up to 40 cm. The mass of a miniature monkey body averages 900–1200 grams.
On the head, you can easily see large ears and impressive eyes. A kind of mask stands out on the face of the animal - the lips of the monkey and the perioral zone are painted in a coal-black color, and the area around the eye sockets and a small part of the hairs that grow from the auricles have almost snow-white tones. Thanks to these unusual features, these tiny monkeys also received their other name - "dead head".
If we consider the hairline of these inhabitants of tropical forests, then one cannot but pay attention to the variety of colors. The area of the crown of them is painted in gray or black tones, the dorsal part is represented by dark olive or green-gray shades, the abdominal surface is white or ocher. The limbs can be reddish or yellowish in color. The caudal process is often identical in color to the body.
Features of the behavior of the monkey in their native lands
Although native to the wild, squirrel monkeys are very social and friendly creatures by nature. They tend to live in large colonies, which consist of the number of individuals from 15 to 300. The size of their group depends very much on the density of the forests in which they live: the more impassable the forest, the larger the saimiri family inhabits it.
The thing is that nature has deprived these cute animals of their large size and fierce appearance, thereby depriving them of their strength in the fight against enemies. It cannot be said that such a large number of monkeys in one family helps them cope with the dangers of group power. The whole secret lies in the fact that if someone from them noticed an approaching danger, he then notifies his relatives with the help of various sounds and signals. Soon after the alarm, the monkeys are already taking up their comfortable and safe positions on the heights of the trees, where almost no one can reach.
There must be a dominant male among this whole flock, who never forgets to demonstrate his greatness and power. Usually for this, he defiantly turns his back to everyone, or simply sways on the ground, lifting his limbs up.
In these large groups of monkeys, strong friendships reign, when family members meet each other, they are greeted with "kisses."
The period of activity in the squirrel saimir falls in the daytime. At the beginning of the day, they usually go in search of food, and although they sometimes have to do this on the ground, they do not very happily descend from the trees. On the ground, they often move on two legs. And having sensed some kind of extraneous rustle or sound, they return to their safe branches with incredible speed. These are the kind of cowards they are by nature, perhaps it is this trait that keeps them alive.
At the end of the working part of the day, these pretty little animals begin the time of mutual hygiene. They spend their time with great pleasure, combing and carefully sorting out the fur of their friends. Also, squirrel monkeys are very playful and funny, so in any free moment they can happily afford to have fun with their comrades. These animals can afford to set aside some time from their "busy" schedule for a lunch break. At this time, they choose a branch that is thicker and most of all bathed in direct sunlight. It is on it that the animal is conveniently placed, lying on its abdomen and hanging down all the limbs.
For the reason that these pretty animals are very active, they spend most of their leisure time in motion, they are very dexterous and graceful jumpers. Squirrel saimiri are very exhausting during the day and they need to get a good rest at night. During a night's rest, the animals are very quiet and cautious, they try not to make unnecessary sounds so as not to attract unwanted problems. During the rest period, the animals most often occupy a position that is similar to a dog, and they sleep with their heads lowered between their legs. If the day has turned out to be very hard, and sleep is sound, then the head can often touch the ground. Despite the fact that the length of the tail of the squirrel saimiri does not even exceed the length of the body itself much, it can only serve as a kind of balancer for them while making jumps. Some monkeys, of course, try to wrap some objects, but, unfortunately, the animals cannot be held in any way with the help of their beautiful tail.
Also, these little animals are quite sociable, they communicate with each other using sounds that resemble a whistle, and sometimes a kind of chirping, which they tend to repeat several times. But during the approaching danger, their voices change greatly and in the middle of a quiet and calm forest, hundreds of different pitiful screams and squeals are heard, which can also be heard during the morning awakening of animals or before plunging into a night's sleep.
Dwarf monkeys feed on various nuts, fruits and insects. In the process of obtaining food, these animals often find bird nests. So, if there are eggs or, moreover, small chicks in the nest, the saimiri will in no case deny himself the pleasure of eating this kind of food. It can even be argued that chicks and eggs are the favorite delicacy of cute monkeys. If the time for lunch has not yet come, and hunger is already attacking, they may well feed themselves with small frogs or a variety of mollusks.
The procession of eating these beautiful mammals is also quite peculiar and very untidy. Having obtained the amount of food they need, they climb a tree to continue their meal in a more comfortable, calm and safe place. Before starting to absorb the delicacies they have obtained, the squirrel saimiri thoroughly knead the fruits, sometimes even trample them under their feet, and can often smear themselves with the juice and pulp of the fruit. The same fate awaits other food, they often tear nuts and various fruits.
In the process of evolution, these original primates have formed another, not entirely pleasant feature: they tend to rub with their urine almost the entire surface of their cute little body. They do this with the help of the tip of the tail, which, due to the fact that it is constantly involved in such a not entirely familiar process, is always wet and not particularly smelling.
Continuation of the genus of the squirrel simiri
The period when these extraordinary mammals reproduce falls on the time from August to October, but some sources say that the process of reproduction takes place all year round. Puberty in saimiri girls begins when they reach the age of 2, 5 years, while males mature longer. They are considered sexually mature at 4, 5–5 years.
By the time the saimiri boy reaches puberty, he noticeably and rapidly increases his body weight. Also, their character traits and some habits change. Animals become more aggressive towards others, but their activity also greatly increases, they briskly jump and amuse themselves, which attracts attention and shows their superiority to female representatives. Adult pygmy monkeys, in turn, create so-called coalitions to protect immature females from annoying males who want to reproduce.
Pregnancy in a female lasts approximately 170-180 days, after this period one saimiri cub is born. A newborn baby differs from older babies in its head, which resembles an ellipse in shape, but after a few weeks the head gradually rounds out and already takes on a more regular spherical appearance.
The first days from birth, the baby monkey spends all its time in a state of sleep, comfortably and comfortably settling down on the belly of its mother, and after some time it already moves on her back. Already the back of the mother is his permanent habitat, even at the time when his mother is eating, sleeping or jumping in search of food. Initially, the baby's diet consists only of mother's milk, milk feeding lasts about 60-70 days. Reaching the age of four weeks, not only his own mother is already looking after the baby, but he has many other nannies, in their capacity are females and males who do not have their own children. Until the moment when puberty occurs, the little squirrel saimiri is under the mother's wing.
Keeping a squirrel monkey at home
Having made the decision to acquire such an extraordinary pet, you will undoubtedly get, as a result, a faithful and very funny companion for your daily life. Be sure that at any time when you are not in a very good mood, the pet monkey will be able to cheer you up and get rid of unnecessary sad thoughts. Only in return will require some action on your part, which you should know in more detail.
- Your pet's personal space. When choosing a cage or aviary for your new friend, you need to remember that the squirrel saimiri are very active and love to move a lot. Therefore, in order not to hinder their movements, it is recommended to select for them a very spacious house, which is constructed of durable wire. Your primate will be very grateful to you if you make sure that there is enough variety of entertainment on his personal square meters. In their capacity, different branches of sufficient thickness are perfect, which should be placed throughout the entire cage and at its different heights. The animal will desperately jump over them, which will allow him to maintain his physical shape, and not let him get bored. You can also give the monkey a few children's toys, it is better to give preference to wood products, because he will simply tear and gnaw soft or rubber toys.
- Hygienic procedures. As for washing, it cannot be said that the squirrel saimiri will be delighted with bathing procedures, but willy-nilly this problem must be solved, gradually accustoming your shaggy companion to hygiene. His body must be kept clean, and this is not entirely simple, due to his physiological characteristics and inaccuracy in the process of eating. It will be nice to comb his fur from time to time. This dwarf monkey is extremely intelligent, so it is quite possible to teach her to relieve herself in a designated place.
- Diet. Despite the fact that this is a rather exotic animal, problems with its diet almost never arise. The menu should contain the main food, well, and various delicacies with which you will spoil your four-legged friend from time to time. As the main course, you need to use special food for monkeys, which can be purchased at many pet stores or on the pages of online stores. Just before serving, it must be soaked in water. It is also periodically recommended to treat your saimiri with different fruits, citrus fruits must be present in the diet to prevent vitamin C deficiency, which is not synthesized in the monkey's body. Sometimes you can offer him boiled quail eggs and chicken meat, he will not refuse these delicacies. Feeding with nuts, honey and even seeds is allowed. You just need to remember that you should not spoil the monkey too much, as it will start to turn up its nose from the main food, and this will already be a problem.
- Communication. By nature, these animals are very friendly and even chatty, so you need the right amount of attention from you. In the event that you do not have much time, then it is recommended to start a couple, as the two of them will not get bored.
Purchase and price of the original monkey
Keeping an exotic squirrel saimiri in your home is a pleasure, although very interesting and funny, but by no means cheap. The average price for this miniature monkey is on average 100,000-250,000 rubles.
You will learn more about the squirrel saimiri from this video:
