# Primate Enrichment



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

I thought there should be a thread of ideas for primate owners to share their enrichment ideas. As we all know, these highly intelligent animals can get bored easily & need a lot of stimulation to keep them healthy in both body & mind.

Here are some of the enrichment ideas I currently use:


*The puzzle feeder - *this is a parrot puzzle feeder toy. It has a hole in each of the 4 sides which my marmosets have to reach in for treats. I change the location of where it is hung every so often, to help keep the marmosets from relying on it's location. 











*The treat cage - *this is a wild bird suet block feeder cage. I put large food items in it, such as fruit & vegetables. I either attach the cage to the mesh of the aviary wall or hang it from the aviary roof. The marmosets have to gnaw bits of food through the cage mesh or use their fingers to pick bits of food out.











*The plastic egg - *this one is made from the plastic egg from inside a Kinder Egg. I cut a small-ish hole at one end of the plastic egg, then open the egg as it was intended to place food inside (nuts, grape, etc), then close it again. These can be placed inside the aviary, either on the floor or in a dish. The marmosets have to use their mouths/tongues or fingers to get food out of the hole.











Other ideas include:


*The toilet roll tube* - take a toilet roll tube, flatten both ends but in opposite directions (so one end is flattened horizontally & the other vertically). Fold the ends over to close off the ends. Cut 1 or 2 small holes in the sides of the toilet roll tube. Pop small food items inside the tube. Place on the aviary floor or hang from the aviary roof. The marmosets have to either chew their way into the tube or use their fingers to get the food.


*The pop bottle* - take a 2 litre plastic pop bottle. Remove packaging & wash the inside of the bottle out. Cut some small-ish holes along the sides of the bottle. Hang from the aviary roof horizontally. Take off the bottle lid & insert small food items inside (grapes, fruit & veg pieces, nuts, bugs). Replace the lid back on the bottle. The marmosets have to reach inside the holes to get food items out.


*The hanging basket* - buy an all-wire hanging basket from a garden centre. Hang inside the aviary. Place plenty of straw inside the basket/ Hide small pieces of vegetables, fruit & nuts in the straw, or release some live crickets or locusts into the straw. The marmosets have to forage around in the straw to find food. They especially love finding bugs in there.


*The tyre* - get a clean old car tyre & hang it inside the aviary from the roof. Place straw in the inside of the tyre. Hide food items in the straw. The marmosets have to forage about it the straw for their treats. I also use the smaller dog toy tyres, sold in pet shops for the same purpose.


----------



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Please would other primate keepers use this thread to share ideas & techniques for providing environmental enrichment for captive primates? We can help each other to provide our primates with the stimulation they need.

Maybe this thread could be made a sticky if it takes off?


----------



## Whosthedaddy (Nov 29, 2009)

Its funny how the most simple ideas work the best. I like the apple in the bird feeder and the hanging basket. I bet they would love to find some inverts burried in there.


----------



## PETERAROBERTSON (Jul 2, 2008)

I use the bottle one colin..

But put crickets inside instead of food..
The crickets cant climb round and when you put the holes in the marms actually time it so when they try to go round the bottle they then grab them..

Needs patiance and perciverance but good to watch...

You can get three pieces of 4inch platic pipe the same size.
DRILL HOLE THROUGH ALL THREE AT BOTH ENDS..

Attatch together with threaded rod..

Put end caps on all three..
Drill holes on face at top edge in different places on each..
Hang from roof or attatch to enclosure and put live feed inside...

They try to look inside and when they see creepy crawlies they go daft..

Another good one is get half a coconut and smear the inside with somthing tasty and hang it up....

I also use plenty hanging balls..

Never seen them on them and kept telling missis it was a waste of money.

When we watched on the cctv..

They were going daft with them...

The cotton tops swing that hard that i need to go in every morning and re route...

Really good post mate..

Good to hear what others use..

Always find though to keep it simple and remember maintinance...

Good thing with the bottle is..
When dirty just throw away..
The pipe one can dismantle and clean and build back up...

We also use ferrit hamocks every now and again to keep them amused.

Ducting pipe for tunnels...


----------



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

The pipe structure sounds great Peter! Any pics? 

It would be brill if other primate keepers could post pictures of their various enrichment ideas.


----------



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Just remembered some other enrichment ideas I use. 


I have a rope 'boing' that I put in the marmoset's aviary. It is a large sisal rope coil, with rigid wire in the centre to keep its shape. It hangs via a chain from the aviry roof & when the marmosets jump on it, it bounces up & down. The babies especially enjoy this.


Many parrot toys make great foraging toys for primates. Besides the pyramid toy from my opening post, I also have a sturdy plastic treasure chest with a few holes in it. This is hung up in the aviary & treats placed inside. The marmosets have to use their dexterity to get the food out of the holes. 


I have also tried using a wooden Budgie nestbox, attached to the side of the aviary or hung up, placed treats inside the nest hole, & watched the marmosets as they have had to reach into the dark hole to feel for a snack. They can also chew at the nest hole to make it bigger.


A small wooden drawer from an old dresser made a nice hanging food tray. I attached chains to the corners of the edge of the drawer, clipped these chains to one central chain, hung it up & sprinkled some small food items in it. The marmosets had to use their agility to balance if they wanted to get at the grub.


I am planning next on making a swinging ladder walkway. I will cut up wooden struts, attach them to 2 lengths of rope spaced apart to create a ladder look, secure the ends to the sides of the aviary using dog lead clips or quick links, & voila. This will make the marmosets use their agility & balancing skills.


----------



## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Wicker baskets can also provide a good enrichment device! By stuffing one with straw, & hiding treats or live bugs in there, then either hanging them up from the aviry roof or attaching to the side of the mesh, you create a great foraging opportunity for the marmosets.


----------

