primates

[reptile ni]

does anyone on here keep primates?

i keep a few species
common marmosets
geoffroy's marmys
pygmy marmys
cotton top tamarins
and one hand reared ringtailed lemur (which is like my second daughter)

[wolfy-hound]

I personally don't agree with keeping primates as "pets". Captives, if they are properly housed with others for company and properly fed as well. But the whole "monkey as subsitute child" thing is just awful.
I do assist on occasion at a local monkey rescue, and half the monkeys are from labs, and the other half were pets. The owners tried to treat them as pets, and when they got older they turned into monkeys. It's very sad when people don't take proper care of them, feeding them poor diets, keeping them in small cages, or trying to force them to be little children instead of magnificent animals.
I hope yours are happy guys.

[reptile ni]

i agree with you about owners dont know what they are getting themselves into when they buy a monkey and many are mistreated i see this all the time.

they are very hard animals to look after properly. i myself have done many years research and have kept them for about 8 years now ive still loads to learn ill admit that lol.

all my primates are kept in family groups in large enclosures and all have the proper diet,heating,uv light etc and are happy healthy and breeding every year, i have all the correct paper work and insurances need to keep them (i dont sell them) i even have the local zoo vet on speed dial

as for my lemur, ive wanted one for years and came across her she was rejected at birth so i reared her, she is now a year old she goes everywhere with me my family have also bonded with her and she just thinks shes one of the family (spoilt rotten so she is) she is sitting beside me as im typing this, love her to bits

[Purrrfect9]

We have 5 ring-tailed Lemurs, all of them hand raised, and our two youngest we use for educational purposes. Kids get to feed them treats (apples, lettuce, sweet potatoes, and on very rare occasions, marshmellows) and while we have them harnessed they can pet them.

While I agree that the average joe schmoe should not be allowed to keep primates, I do think that people should be allowed to keep them as pets. To me, it's no different than keeping a tiger, bear, coatimundi, roo's or any other exotic. You have to know the species intimately and their behavior in the wild in order to keep them happy in captivity. Like falconry, I would really like to see a period of internship of 2 years to be required before you can purchase/adopt any exotic species as a pet, that way you can see the difference of behavior in juveniles and adults. Also, so people can be taught the 'right' way to raise an exotic. They are not supposed to be your children, nor should they ever be considered as one. They can be dangerous. All it takes is one little thing to set them off, and they can a.) turn on you, or b.) injure you in the process of getting away. Most people who don't work with exotics have a hard time grasping this concept. They don't behave like dogs and cats that have been domesticated over THOUSANDS of years. They might exhibit that behavior from time to time, but they are NOT here simply for our pleasure. I think I should probably step down from my soapbox before I get too carried away.

[Purrrfect9]

as for my lemur, ive wanted one for years and came across her she was rejected at birth so i reared her, she is now a year old she goes everywhere with me my family have also bonded with her and she just thinks shes one of the family (spoilt rotten so she is) she is sitting beside me as im typing this, love her to bits

I'd start watching your female lemur's behavior very closely from hear on out. our females start showing aggression between 1-2 years of age. Generally the adults only bond with one person, and will 'mob' anyone else that gets close. Does your girl still have her baby fangs? Those are VERY nasty, and can leave some impressive scars. We have a neutered male that's 2. We are taking him to our exotic vet this weekend to remove his adult fangs. As he's getting older, we've noticed that his tolerance towards children is wearing thin. Just something about kid's big eye to face ration that makes him think that they're challenging them is starting to upset him *shrug*.

[wolfy-hound]

Why would you have the lemur's teeth pulled for it acting like a lemur?

[Purrrfect9]

Why would you have the lemur's teeth pulled for it acting like a lemur?

For the safety of the public and for us. Their top canines are serrated, and leave nasty scars, and since our lemurs do come in contact with the public we'd rather be safe than sorry. Really, it's cosmetical and is not any different than de-clawing cats. We go to the top lemur and coati vet in the nation, so it's not like we're de-fanging them in our back yard.

[kitsunex]

For the safety of the public and for us. Their top canines are serrated, and leave nasty scars, and since our lemurs do come in contact with the public we'd rather be safe than sorry. Really, it's cosmetical and is not any different than de-clawing cats. We go to the top lemur and coati vet in the nation, so it's not like we're de-fanging them in our back yard.

comparing it to a barbaric practice that has been banned in a lot of countries isn't helping your case. people that declaw their cats deserve to have them taken away unless its for a serious medical reason.

[Purrrfect9]

comparing it to a barbaric practice that has been banned in a lot of countries isn't helping your case. people that declaw their cats deserve to have them taken away unless its for a serious medical reason.

That's your opinion. I have mine. No amount of me explaining to people who are not willing to listen will change that. Therefore this is the last post on the topic of declawing/defanging.

[kitsunex]

that right there is a cop-out. you come in here and make some blanket statement and when you are called on it you take your ball and go home? never took you for being that immature.

when did i say that i wasn't listening. if you can explain to me how removing the end of a cat's toe at the last knuckle is NOT barbaric, then by all means give it a shot. I've seen the effects of declawing on a cat, both psychologically and physically and like i said there is a reason that Europe has banned the practice. I've seen cats that won't use a litter box because it still hurts their paws years later to try to stand on it with their mutilated paws. i've seen a beautiful gentle cat turn into a vicious biter because its claws were removed and it felt very vulnerable and threatened with its first line of defense get taken from it. When it comes to the procedure, in my experience only about 10% of them don't come out of the procedure screwed up in some way.