COMMON MARMOSETS
There are over 40 caged marmosets at Monkeyland

Common marmosets are the cheapest and most easily available primates on the South African pet market. Therefore, many people think it’s a good idea to own one. What they are usually not told by the breeder or pet shop assistant is that marmosets actually make terrible pets. For one thing they have razor sharp teeth, which most are not shy to use, even if they just mean to be playful. They also urinate everywhere to mark their territories, filling homes with pungent smells and damp patches. Furthermore, they are extremely social animals, so they cling to their family members or “human friends” for entertainment and attention at all times, which can be frustrating both for busy humans and bored marmoset.

Eventually, many pet marmosets make their way to sanctuaries such as Monkeyland. Unfortunately, we are not really equipped for these South American miniature monkeys. Fully-grown marmosets only weigh around 350g, so they are small enough to climb through our fence… and that’s if they can make it to fence before ending up as capuchin or vervet monkey lunch!

Initially, the plan was to house the marmosets in Monkeyland’s sister sanctuary, Birds of Eden, which is the largest free-flight aviary in the world with 2.3ha ground space, 3.2ha mesh and a maximum height of 50m. This huge space would have been ideal for them since it’s fully enclosed in tight mesh. They were released there and actually adapted well, but unfortunately several marmosets developed a habit of stalking and chasing birds. Although certain individuals were fine, it would have been difficult to remove problem monkeys selectively. Furthermore, we worried about future generations getting out of hand, so the marmosets were caught and re-caged.

A new solution must be found for the marmosets, because they currently live in old cages that were not designed for this purpose and do not make an ideal long-term home. Since many of the Special Monkey Home inhabitants will be rather large, it won’t be an ideal home for the marmosets. TAMHF is currently researching the ideal solution for them. For the beginning, marmoset groups will appreciate the large cages left over from monkeys moving into the Special Monkey Home. To sterilise the males and build a large enclosure with small mesh for all the marmosets is also under consideration.