How to Choose a Monkey for a Pet

By eHow Pets Editor

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

Time
Patience
Space

Step 1:
Find a primate veterinarian reasonably close to your home. Many vets will refuse to treat primates because they can carry diseases transmissible to humans. A good vet may even be able to refer you to a reputable breeder.
Step 2:
Research whether monkeys are legal as house pets in your state, and whether you will need a special permit to keep it. Monkeys are considered wild animals.
Step 3:
Identify a breeder and make the actual transaction in person. Monkeys are expensive, and dealing strictly over the Internet can be dangerous.
Step 4:
Decide if you have the time and the resources to care for a pet that may live 20 to 40 years. It will need, at the very least, a yearly physical exam and TB test. It will need diapers and probably an elaborate containment system; monkeys are expert escape artists. But most of all, it will need you: your companionship, sometimes to the exclusion of all others. Monkeys tend to be possessive of their loved ones.
Step 5:
Determine whether you're willing to share your home with a pet that can transmit disease to you and your family. It is estimated that 90 percent of captive macaques carry the herpes B virus, which can be fatal to humans. Monkeys can also catch colds and can have and spread tuberculosis and parasites.
Step 6:
Decide whether you have the patience to deal with a monkey. These guys are smart and, because they are, their capacity for mischief is infinite. Expect your curtains to be destroyed, your furniture to be soiled, your glasses to be chewed and you to be bitten for what you consider no good reason.
Step 7:
Pick the type of monkey you want. The smallest are the marmosets, weighing only a few ounces at maturity; macaques are the largest of the commonly captive species and weigh between 11 to 18 lbs.

Tips & Warnings

Some experts recommend that you have more than one monkey in the house for their psychological well-being.
Monkeys can develop distasteful habits like displaying genitalia, masturbation and playing with urine and feces.
Depressed monkeys in captivity have been known to commit suicide.

Resources

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