# Marmosets



## JPReptiles (Dec 2, 2007)

Hi guys,

I am after some information on marmosets from keepers/breeders of this species.

I have read through the internet many times regarding care,feeding,housing ect but would like some information from people who own them.

I know they should not be kept solitary which i would not do anyway..

Can people please give me some advice as to enclosure size and how to construct/heat ect and also what needs to be in there for them.

Also what size should the indoor enclosure be? I was thinking maybe something like a shed of some sort and then an avary type enclosure attached?

Any help would be great as i am not yet ready to get them as the enclosure would need constructing first,but as soon as i know what i need i.e materials ect i will be half way there.

If people would rather PM me feel free.

John


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## cmullins (Feb 20, 2008)

again, like in the PM i sent you about the porcupine, if you give me a call i can give you a hand there too


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## JPReptiles (Dec 2, 2007)

cmullins said:


> again, like in the PM i sent you about the porcupine, if you give me a call i can give you a hand there too


That would be great..again lol.

Do you keep these also?

John


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## beastmasta (Mar 19, 2009)

Hi there

I have kept many species in the past and by no means are they easy to keep nor breed!

I suppose we are going to talk about the common or white eared tufted

Firstly are you looking at a family senario or a pair?

Marmosets can be very teritorial and should be watched at all times as they will fight very agresive.
Housing needs should be thought through very well with heating the first in mind
If you have a garage or spare room is the first in line if you can only build a enclosure a well built shed with insulation should do the trick with a out door play area for exercise and daytime fun. The shed should be fitted with electric and heaters for the cold nights and winter months some breeders even have heat lamps above or under the breeding/sleeping quarters.
Marmosets always like to sleep in a box and will retire to it at dusk almost at the same time every night provide them with a blanket and they will bury themselves in this and cherish it as there own.

Feeding times can be quite fun they will try to get out of the enclosure at every given chance at feeding times and this should always be observed as they are a terror to get back in.

You can now buy a marmoset mix or some people feed them complan/baby food etc

Chicken meats pulses mealworms and locusts

Fresh drinking water in a rabbit feeder will be fine.

Any more in depth info please let me know

Thanks


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## JPReptiles (Dec 2, 2007)

Thanks for the advice..

I would have no prference to be honest,either a pair/group. 

I do have a spare room which i could get a decent sized enclosure in but i thought they needed access to outdoors? I can also offer that if it is better for them.

Would you need to dig into the ground to fit the enclosure to make it more secure so they cannot escape nor anything else get in?

Would you just make the outside part of the enclosure from mesh,obviously with wood also?

John


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Hi Mephitis,
I have a breeding pair of Common Marmosets. I also have a set of twins for sale at the mo. I see you are in the North West. I'm in Preston. PM me if you want any more info, etc
Colin


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

Why would anyone be interested in bying a pair of marmies from the same mum n dad you should be aware of this if you keep them.maybe some reserch would be good


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## africa (Sep 12, 2008)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> Why would anyone be interested in bying a pair of marmies from the same mum n dad you should be aware of this if you keep them.maybe some reserch would be good


 Clearly that that is the intention of the OP which is great.

I see you are new to this forum PETERAROBERTSON, maybe you should indicate your experience with the animals in question before making a statement such as the above, especially as it appears to be directed at someone who has vast experience of keeping marmosets.

Over to you Zoo-Man.......


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks Sallie!

To the OP, when I stated I was selling a pair of Marmosets, I meant 2 of, not a _breeding_ pair! Also, those babies were 2 males, so no worry of any possibility of them breeding there then eh. :roll:


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

africa said:


> Clearly that that is the intention of the OP which is great.
> 
> I see you are new to this forum PETERAROBERTSON, maybe you should indicate your experience with the animals in question before making a statement such as the above, especially as it appears to be directed at someone who has vast experience of keeping marmosets.
> 
> Over to you Zoo-Man.......



:2thumb::2thumb::2thumb::2thumb::2thumb::2thumb:


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## lizard queen (Jul 8, 2007)

they're so much to consider when your thinking of enclosures. firstly you need to decide if you intend of breeding from a pair, purely because a massive family will obviously need a lot more space then a same sex pair. my personal opinion is that a shed with an aviary attached is perfectly fine if the shed can be heated sufficiently, and that you have easy access to both parts of the enclosure. having a door between the two is a good idea so you can shut them in either part if necessary. 

if you want to pm me with questions thats fine, i always say the more info you get from actual keepers (all of which will be different but not necessarily wrong) the better you will be able to make your own, informed choices.


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

15 yrs or so experiance...have troops of commons,melanura.pure silvery,s.geoldies.cotton tops.pigmys.red bellied. Troop gefroys..but like to keep myself to myself. Vast experiance...no one knows everything as we are always learning....didnt try to upset anyone and appolagise if i did....sorry.


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> 15 yrs or so experiance...have troops of commons,melanura.pure silvery,s.geoldies.cotton tops.pigmys.red bellied. Troop gefroys..but like to keep myself to myself. Vast experiance...no one knows everything as we are always learning....didnt try to upset anyone and appolagise if i did....sorry.


No worries Petra. : victory:


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

Zoo-Man said:


> No worries Petra. : victory:


Hi Colin

How you doing, hope you are well :2thumb:

It could be Peter :whistling2: or could it be Petera ???

Thought I better cover the bases, so as not to offend 

Neil


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

kodakira said:


> Hi Colin
> 
> How you doing, hope you are well :2thumb:
> 
> ...


Hiya Neil,
Im ok thanks, just battling the boredom of unemployment! I've decided that as I definately want to get a job as a zoo keeper, I have started looking at zoos throughout the UK & will just have to move to where the work is. I have applied for a job as a Bird Keeper at Twycross Zoo, & as a reptile keeper at Bristol Zoo. Just waiting to see if I hear anything back.

How are you pal?


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

Names not petra mate its peter....i apaulagise for thinking that ive offended and im begining to wonder why i bothered as it looks to me like you are the one trying to offend...by the way maybe keeping twin brothers to you woundnt get breeding,,,what would be the outcome when they reach maturity..so with regard to me having an opinioon against some one with vast experiance such as yourself is this experiance infact with keeping small primates...there are thousands out there that give private keepers a bad name mate and i can rest assure you that im not one of them...can you justify not being on that list. I joined this too try and meet people that love primates like me and my wife and if you and your sarcastic little cleat of followers stoped and read what was writen you would see that for yourself....so please mate no more stupid sarcastic comments like this as im 47yrs of age and look for inteligence and not smarties...i actually thought you semed quite interesting...thats why i love and have so many animals as you get what you see....never been good judge when it came to humans and yet again heres another prime example...


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## BethieSims (Jun 28, 2010)

*Bit of a Jeremy Kyle moment there.

I think its more a conflict of interest. 
Anyone who owns a pet, will decide that there is something wrong with the way someone else is doing it.
At the end of the day, i do not know either of you. But the bottomline is the animal healthy and happy? If so, your both experienced and great owners!



*


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> Names not petra mate its peter....i apaulagise for thinking that ive offended and im begining to wonder why i bothered as it looks to me like you are the one trying to offend...by the way maybe keeping twin brothers to you woundnt get breeding,,,what would be the outcome when they reach maturity..so with regard to me having an opinioon against some one with vast experiance such as yourself is this experiance infact with keeping small primates...there are thousands out there that give private keepers a bad name mate and i can rest assure you that im not one of them...can you justify not being on that list. I joined this too try and meet people that love primates like me and my wife and if you and your sarcastic little cleat of followers stoped and read what was writen you would see that for yourself....so please mate no more stupid sarcastic comments like this as im 47yrs of age and look for inteligence and not smarties...i actually thought you semed quite interesting...thats why i love and have so many animals as you get what you see....never been good judge when it came to humans and yet again heres another prime example...


I take it this is aimed at me? Sorry but where has this come from? Why are you having a go at me? I accepte your apologies in the post at the top of this page! Fair dos I got your name wrong!


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> Names not petra mate its peter....i apaulagise for thinking that ive offended and im begining to wonder why i bothered as it looks to me like you are the one trying to offend...by the way maybe keeping twin brothers to you woundnt get breeding,,,what would be the outcome when they reach maturity..so with regard to me having an opinioon against some one with vast experiance such as yourself is this experiance infact with keeping small primates...there are thousands out there that give private keepers a bad name mate and i can rest assure you that im not one of them...can you justify not being on that list. I joined this too try and meet people that love primates like me and my wife and if you and your sarcastic little cleat of followers stoped and read what was writen you would see that for yourself....so please mate no more stupid sarcastic comments like this as im 47yrs of age and look for inteligence and not smarties...i actually thought you semed quite interesting...thats why i love and have so many animals as you get what you see....never been good judge when it came to humans and yet again heres another prime example...


Im trying to offend you? Believe me, I am not! 

So you think twin brothers would start to fight when reaching maturity? I have seen this not to be the case, unless there was female attention to be fought over.

I am puzzled as to where this tirade has come from, as you have made efforts to contact me a couple of times, both on the forum & via email (to which you did not reply), for the good of our troops, as you put it. So whats all this about? Are you saying I give primate keepers a bad name?

And I have no followers, only friends, sarcastic or otherwise!


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

This was not a tirade mate..retaliation to petra and wee smiley faces...i would never dream of puting twin brothers together...they should be with a troop or a partner the way its meant to be..and trust me i know of a pair that were housed together and when maturity came(doesnt mean they need female)they started fighting over food and the outcome wasnt that pretty..its always the female of the troop thats dominant as im sure you know..ive a red bellied female that holds a troop of 7 together...soon to be 9 in a few weeks as shes ready to give birth again(fingers crossed.ive even experianced people putting a young female with an older male and not in all cases but even this can cause problems as the young female finds it hard to dominate theolder animal...with regard to not answering emails i never got them...i have been keeping small primates for a number of years now,,but dont look on them as pets as they never should be..we breed them as lovers of keeping the species going..theres a small circle with quite a colection ...i found that having a listening ear to others experiances was a goood way to learn....same with quite alot of ads i see on the net...for sale...photos of dad carrying but no other babies there...they should never be away from mum and dad till they see a birth and experiance carrying or it can leed to problems as they dont know what to do...mothers rejecting perfectly formed and healthy young just cause they dont know whats happening..as ive already stated everyones always learning...do you feed gum and if so where to you purchase???thats something i may be able to help with as most stuff on the net and pet shops is a rip off...i dont sell it buy the way so this isnt me trying to get buisiness...the company im talking about sells the jelly and lori necter as well but dont know if you use or know about this..(and thats not a judgement..)future of troops is important ,,new bloods always needed...thats why i contacted as out of all i read you seemed the most sensible...anyone would have took offence at tacking the mick(petra)or maybe im too serious....got a pencilata ready to give birth over the next couple of weeks and a geoldi thats pretty heavy..got 9 inclosures here at moment and need to move to get more room..have housed our silveries(silcinata) and melanura(silvery hybrid but still pure silvery) at one of our friends zoos...baby gefroys thats 4 weeks old as the sister that was born died during birth....strange thing is she was paired up with our male when she was already pregnant..her other partner used to eat the young and after twice it was time to do something as you cant have that eh...hes rearing it well with her so providing he can get her pregnant should have a good pair....hope this gives you an explanation of what we are about but ive never listed animals as we are very private people....peter alexander robertson


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

I honestly read your username as Petra! This is probably because it is all in capitals & to me all the letters merge. So my apologies again Peter. And the smilie was to back up my "No worries" remark, not to show sarcasm or any other nagativity.

Regarding twin brothers, I do know of a pair of Commons that have lived as such for around 4 years now & have been fine. I understand that it is not the same for all pairings, but just from my experience, I have seen a good twin brother pairing.

I have tried my Marmosets with Arabic gum a few times, varying the consistency, but they do not show much interest bar a couple of licks. 

I hope that clears up some of the confusion. I can't remember what else I was going to put :lol2:


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

There are a few different types of gum zoo man...theres the nuggets which if made correctly ive found all will take...the powder stuff can be a hit or miss...mazura make two forms of the same gum...one is ok and the other they add different types of stuff to it and the marmies turn there nose up..(couple of licks) could be your getting this stuff...we get the mazura uk mix and they empty the dish //although it needs to be really runny...if you havent tried these give me a shout and ill send you a little to try...better getting summit they will take as its good for them....confusion all cleared up..take it easy and hope to hear from you soon...was saying to neil that id send some pics of our animals but id need to work out how to keep it private as we dont like anyone knowing our buisiness..


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## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

Just my opinion, by no means anything that's published.

Primates tend to adapt. That's the good thing about intelligent captives. I've had juvenile males introduced and housed in (what I consider) small enclosures without any major problems occurring. You should expect the occasional bickering between members of the same troop. Having squabbles between juvenile siblings is surely to be expected. Especially in pygmy Marms.

Key to harmonious social living (in pygmy marmosets, by my observations) is an abundance of mental stimulation.


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

Totaly agree with your view..but dont see the need for same sex being kept just to have pets and give them company...should be left in troop or even paired up to make new pairs....keep the species going...ive housed brothers together myself with success but only untill unrelated females were found for them both...they did squable but the only thing it needed was one to become dominant over the other...females need to be dominant...i have squbles all the time with my troop of red bellied..(7) when it gets too out of hand ,mum steps in and sorts it...had troop of 15 at oban zoo..mum died and there was a massacre...ive got the only one that survived and he was never mentaly the same...but its opinions...what works for you might not work for me and likewise...going to run my pigmys with one of the common troops as seen it at edinburgh zoo and few others do it..they arent a threat to the commons and the pygmys seem to be more secure...as you know they are the most timmid of all the species....plenty have had succes with this but im still toying with it...would hate my case to be the one that went wrong...whats your opinion...


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

Absolutely love Pygmy Marmosets.

Definately on the wish list to add to our collection.

I can see some farm land being needed shortly.

Have adored primates since being a young child. Now many many years later after many years of reasearch we have the time and the finances to devote to these woderful animals.

Best Wishes

Neil


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## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> Totaly agree with your view..but dont see the need for same sex being kept just to have pets and give them company...should be left in troop or even paired up to make new pairs....keep the species going...ive housed brothers together myself with success but only untill unrelated females were found for them both...they did squable but the only thing it needed was one to become dominant over the other...females need to be dominant...i have squbles all the time with my troop of red bellied..(7) when it gets too out of hand ,mum steps in and sorts it...had troop of 15 at oban zoo..mum died and there was a massacre...ive got the only one that survived and he was never mentaly the same...but its opinions...what works for you might not work for me and likewise...going to run my pigmys with one of the common troops as seen it at edinburgh zoo and few others do it..they arent a threat to the commons and the pygmys seem to be more secure...as you know they are the most timmid of all the species....plenty have had succes with this but im still toying with it...would hate my case to be the one that went wrong...whats your opinion...


My view is pretty holistic. I think one needs to take every aspect of the situation into review before coming to a conclusion. If the OP was looking at becoming active in the exotics hobby and keeping Marms and a pair of brothers became available - as I see it - This pair are going to be together until either a)they're separated for whatever reason b)they join an existing troop or are the beginning of one. Right now I think that a same sex pair isn't a bad idea. At the very least until suitable housing is made available to extend the pair into a larger community group.

I used to work with Laboratories and was quite active in the husbandry of their animals. As with medical science it is not always possible to keep animals in natural setups or in a group more natural to the species. Males (generally in monkeys) will exist together quite nicely. I don't think it's a horrible scenario, just not the optimum. 

I do however think the OP should get some practical experience before committing to owning his/her own captives. I'm sure there are animal charities/private collections near him/her that might be happy to have an extra body around a few days in the months for cleaning/feeding and getting to know the daily business.


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## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

Good answer and you seem well educated.mind im 47 yrs old and new to forums so dont know what po is etc...nieve....do you think then in your opinion that a pair of brothers could form the basis of a troop...or even infact be introduced into a troop...have succesfully hand reared and reintroduced,,,also with no success....they can be ficle...dont think same sex pair is the way to go..plenty out there to stop it..if we keep doing it then what will the future bring????do you keep any ???was it keiths lab you worked in as you said you had lab experiance..do you think lab situations are different to enclosures...they do a job and some do it really well..this is a difference of oppinion that could go on forrever...i just dont think monkeys are pets...you can be a keeper or breader but they are never pets..have asked question in the past same as im asking you...this was too a close friend of mine...who was the biggest private primate keeper in the uk...plus most of my other friends are at zoos..also have friends at edinburgh lab...shame its closing due to funding..had enquiry to see if i could take some stock but i dont have the room...ive had to move some of ours to zoo parks to be housed untill such times as we get a different house with more room...have nine enclosures and no room for anymore...im quite passionate on this as ive got a hand reared male who for 6 yrs weve tried to get to go with his own kind and he goes to kill mode whenever they meet..even keeping side by side they are fine but contact is imposible..so i dont dissagree but if sircumstances provale and two males need housed together..if theres no reason other than to give someone a so called pair of pets then again i still say its not correct and would find it hard to contimplate that even keith at the lab would condone this as i know what his veiw would be...i do agree with hands on as thats what we did...with a private breader of over 50yrs experiance...he even was envolved in the geoldies at dunfermline glenn but i guess at 22yrs of age youd be too young to remember that..(and thats not sarcasm) enjoying this conversation with you emenceley and hope to hear from you soon....


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## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

Laboratory setups vary greatly. With it being study dependant I've seen groups of pygmy's housed in Home Office compliant 'box houses' which were effectively 8 foot tall, 3 foot wide, 4 foot deep metal boxes with wooden interiors and various hide boxes. On the other side of the scale troops were housed in quite large gang cages. 12 foot plus in length with two levels of 8 foot in height.
I've only ever kept pygmy and commons marmosets along with more typical laboratory species like Cynos and Rhesus that I worked with, so I can't go outside those without generalizing - which I always tend to note.

I've had to start groups with single males and eventually condition older and younger animals into a group. Again there are fights that occur but show me a species that'll happily change its ranks and accept new comers without any squabbling. Again I think we need to look at the variables in every situation. Enclosures and interiors play a big part as you know one could say they're the second major factor in forming hierarchy in many groups. 

I have to leave work now but I'll rejoin the conversation when I come back tomorrow.


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## jonnybrfc (May 10, 2010)

Hi peter wasnt knocking your experience last week about the baby gefforys marmoset being a hybrid, i seen both parents and both were full gefforys marmosets and had white faces, looking forward to seing pictures of your primates in the near future and im only a newbie to the forum as well so welcome lol : victory:


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

PETERAROBERTSON said:


> There are a few different types of gum zoo man...theres the nuggets which if made correctly ive found all will take...the powder stuff can be a hit or miss...mazura make two forms of the same gum...one is ok and the other they add different types of stuff to it and the marmies turn there nose up..(couple of licks) could be your getting this stuff...we get the mazura uk mix and they empty the dish //although it needs to be really runny...if you havent tried these give me a shout and ill send you a little to try...better getting summit they will take as its good for them....confusion all cleared up..take it easy and hope to hear from you soon...was saying to neil that id send some pics of our animals but id need to work out how to keep it private as we dont like anyone knowing our buisiness..


It is the powdered gum I have at the moment. They weren't too impressed with it. I will PM you my address if your kind offer to send me some of the Mazuri uk mix still stands. 

It is nice to have another primate keeper on the forum. Its always good to compare notes with other keepers. 

Would love to see some pics. :2thumb:


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

And hi to Robbie. Again, its nice to have more primate keepers on here! : victory:


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