Proper quarantines and medical care for pet monkeys is challenging and expensive. Routine and emergency vet care is essential, but access to qualified exotic pet vets is limited. Medical issues requiring exams, lab work, x-rays and treatment can cost thousands. Purchase costs alone can range from $4,000 to $8,000 for a young monkey the profitability of ethereum cryptocurrency mining has halved in a week from a reputable breeder. Older monkeys may be less expensive, but often come with more health problems. Estimates suggest nearly 1 in 3 pet monkeys engaged in unprovoked attacks on human owners or visitors (Bradshaw, 2022).
How to Buy a Monkey
- Your city clerk should be able to tell you if you can keep a monkey.
- In the wild, they can live for up to 20 to 25 years, but this can be shorter since they are usually hunted for food.
- This piqued my interest, and the owner mentioned that they can be very expensive to both acquire and maintain, and they demand a lot of attention.
- Leaving a pet monkey is not as simple as kenneling a dog when you want to go on vacation for a while.
- In many cases, expect to drive up to 4 hours to find a vet that specializes in primate care.
While you may be able to buy a monkey in some states, it’s illegal in most states unless you have a permit. As an what is an igo crypto alternative to buying a monkey, consider “adopting” one at your local zoo or rescue, or get a different, lower-maintenance animal to have as a pet. Monkeys are cute, friendly, and entertaining, and they might seem like the perfect pet—but how do you go about buying a monkey? The short answer is, it depends on where you live (but probably not). If your capuchin has developed diabetes, you’ll need to give them insulin shots which can of course be very challenging. You’ll need to work with your monkey to present their arm, leg, or tail to give them an insulin shot in exchange for a treat.
In the first year your capuchin will want to spend a lot of their time clinging to your body. Besides the amount of time you’ll need to spend with your baby capuchin, you’ll need to buy lots of enrichment toys and a large indoor and preferably outdoor enclosure in the future. You’ll also have ongoing vet expenses and they require a diet that mainly consists of fresh vegetables and commercial primate biscuits. The exotic pet trade is largely unregulated, resulting in animal cruelty and major public health risks. Buying pet monkeys fuels the exotic animal industry and takes business away from legitimate sanctuaries that provide monkeys with lifetime care. While free rehomes do become available from time the time, the chance for a first-time primate owner to adopt a capuchin monkey is very slim and not advisable.
Housing and Enclosure
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. Getting them from a reliable breeder will set you back around $1,500 to $2,000 to start. Chimps in captivity can live up to 30 years or longer, depending on their state. Adult chimps can stand up to 150 cm or about 59 inches and can weigh as much as 155 pounds. There are buy bitcoin in the united kingdom cases where chimps have grown bigger than this in captivity. Baboons have a characteristic, dog-like muzzle and hairless pads of skin that protrude from their backside.
Some good complete diets for pet monkeys include Mazuri Primate Browse Biscuits, Zupreem Primate Dry Food, and Purina Primate Chow. According to veterinary guidelines, about 25% of a monkey’s diet should come from quality commercial monkey chow (2). Bored monkeys may develop neurotic behaviors like rocking, pacing, or self-harming. To prevent this, provide lots of interactive toys and puzzles, like treat-dispensing balls, foraging boxes, and rags or cardboard for shredding. Due to concerns over public health and safety, very few private owners can meet all state and federal requirements to legally own monkeys in the United States. Those wishing to care for monkeys may find it easier to volunteer at a zoo or sanctuary rather than attempting to keep them as pets.
Diseases Transmissible to Humans
When you’re financially ready and willing to commit to taking care of a pet monkey, it will be one of the most challenging yet fulfilling experiences you’ll have in your life. It’s always recommended that you buy your pet monkey straight from a reliable breeder instead of an exotic pet shop or broker. While they do have humanlike behavior, potential owners should understand they are large and twice as strong as humans. Males, like all primates, have a tendency to become aggressive once they enter adulthood. Meanwhile, certain countries and places in the United States have strict laws banning the ownership and keeping of a pet monkey by private individuals. Melissa Thornberry is the lead content creator and blog writer for berrypatchfarms.net.
These behavioral issues are likely to worsen as your monkey ages and enters puberty. Understand that these jungle animals haven’t been fully domesticated, and even those that come from experienced breeders can be difficult to deal with. It is advised that you see pictures of the monkeys first and go pick up the monkey from the current owner.
The Humane Society has a list of incidents on their website of aggressive behavior of monkeys toward people, including their owners. It’s also important to note that many medical issues can be transferred from human to monkey, and vice versa. Locating a veterinarian prior to attempting to bring a monkey home is critical. Purchasing a pet monkey is very expensive, and maintaining any simian in captivity is very expensive.