How to Select Treats for a Pet Monkey

Your pet monkey requires a varied diet. In addition to a commercially produced monkey food, your monkey needs fruits and vegetables. You should select treats that are in line with what your monkey would eat in the wild. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Acacia gum paste
• Seeds or nuts
• Figs
• Dried fruit
• Vitamins
• Cooked carrots
• Grub worms
• Berries
• Gummy fruit treats
• Bamboo

Select Treats for Your Pet Monkey

1. Treat your monkey to some grub worms. Grub worms are high in protein and so are a great way to supplement your monkey's regular diet. Try using fresh worms, since this is how your monkey would eat them in the wild.

2. Offer up some bamboo. Bamboo contains a lot of moisture that is beneficial to your monkey.

3. Choose cooked carrots. Younger monkeys especially need these to be cooked.

4. Add protein by giving your monkey boiled eggs as treats.

5. Try treats monkeys would eat in the wild. Seeds and nuts are monkey favorites, and can help clean teeth.

6. Throw in a few bugs. Grasshoppers and crickets may not sound like treats to you, but monkeys often enjoy munching on crunchy bugs.

7. Go with the classic monkey standby: bananas.

8. Ask your vet about gummy fruit flavor treats. Many people feed these as treats to their monkeys, but monkeys with dietary restrictions may not be able to tolerate them.

9. Visit primate specialist retailers to select commercially made monkey treats. Stores like Monkey Needs offer nutritionally sound chocolate, banana and berry flavored treats (see Resources below).

10. Try an Acacia gum paste as a treat for baby monkeys. This tree-derived powder is mixed with water and spoon fed to infant monkeys.

11. Share your seasonal fresh berries with your pet monkey.

12. Add vitamins to your monkey's food. Vitamins may not be a tasty treat, but they will help your pet stay healthy. Opt for supplements rich in Vitamin C. In the wild, monkeys consume much more Vitamin C than humans do.

13. Serve up some fresh figs. In the wild, monkeys choose figs as a favorite treat.

14. Offer a selection of dried fruit strung together as a treat that is fun for your monkey to tear apart. Simply skewer the fruit and hang it by a length of twine inside your monkey's cage.

Tips & Warnings

• Live grubs will live for a few days in the refrigerator.
• Be sure to serve your pet monkey a nutritionally complete monkey food twice daily as his primary diet.
• Limit treats to less than 10 percent of your pet monkey's diet to keep him healthy.

Resources

• Commercial monkey treats at Money Needs