Checklist: Is Your Monkey Really Spoiled?

We think of "spoiling" as overindulging a monkey, as allowing the monkey to get used to having too much or more than he or she needs. But are we spoiling our monkeys with too much of a good thing or too much of a bad thing?

Read on to find out how most owners are not spoiling their monkeys. They are simply using poor management techniques.

Check the categories below. Do you give too much or set strict limits?

1. Diet - You should set strict limits in this area. Historically, the pet monkey owner has been lenient with the diet, offering foods that appeal to a monkey’s taste rather than to a proven scientific standard of health. Such leniency can lead to poor health and behavior problems.

2. Dominance and aggression maneuvers - You should be strict in giving consequences and in not accidentally encouraging and reinforcing the behaviors. Typically the owner has been unaware of correct management techniques and has been lenient in allowing monkeys to bite and show other forms of dominance. Most owners initially laugh at pinching, hair pulling, kicking, scratching and biting behaviors in spite of themselves. Later when the behaviors become more serious and painful, they find themselves with a dominant and habitual aggressor. Lack of limit setting and proper management techniques can encourage problem behaviors and lead to an unhandleable monkey.

3. One-on-one play or grooming time - For pet monkeys, you should be generous in this area. Pet monkeys often run loose but do not receive a period of direct attention. Studies show that a period of 10-20 minutes of concentrated attention at the beginning of a play period will satisfy most attention-hungry monkeys who often demand attention with hyper behavior when let out of their cages.

4. Cage space - You should be generous with cage space and all that goes with it. Cage space is unfortunately an area of almost complete failure with an estimated 75%+ of all pet monkey owners. (See more in the section on housing and throughout the Monkey Matters Complete Guide to Care and Behavior.)

5. Enrichment - This is another area to be generous in. (Providing toys for stimulation does not spoil the intelligent primate who is used to being "spoiled" in the wild by an incredible abundance of sights, sounds, smells and changing scenes.

6. Social companionship - Be generous when offering social companionship. Social isolation should be a choice, not a mandate. When social interaction (snuggling, play and grooming) is restricted, monkeys often develop psychological problems.

What does it all mean? It means that in the past people have not been given the excellent quality educational information required to keep pet monkeys.