Plus good for monkey caretakers to read again or read if they haven't.
An abnormal monkey self-bites THE ROAD TO REHABILITATION
There are two pathways to creating more mental and emotional
contentment in captive monkeys. The first is prevention, and the second
is therapy. It is important to employ correct hand-rearing techniques to
make the experience more fulfilling for the caretaker, while helping
produce a happier and more emotionally stable monkey. A monkey that in
the long run will be easier to care for. By preventing some of the
possibilities for psychological disorder, a caretaker stands a better
chance of reducing aggression (often caused by frustration) and will
probably maintain a more pleasant relationship throughout the monkey's
life. The reason so much emphasis is placed on infant care is because
maturational arrest is so difficult, if not impossible, to correct once
it has occurred. As with any illness or disorder, prevention is the best
medicine, and the best place to begin.
It has been established that contact comfort from a responsive mother
is the first key to an infant's health. The role of the caretaker is to
recreate as much of the natural situation as possible, in this case the
Mother/infant relationship, and to provide the elements of that care.
The essential elements of care that a monkey mother consistenfly
provides are: * warmth * security * constant access to a nipple for food
and security *nurturing such as grooming, comfort sounds, & eye contact
* protection * movement * responsive contact * discipline
Often, a caretaker will take on the responsibility for an animal that
already exhibits abnormal behavior, whether it be from maturational
arrest or a deprived environment. Rehabilitation means providing a
stable, secure environment and applying a positive course of
environmental enrichment. The road may be bumpy at times, so be patient
and persistent. Primates in therapy do not always choose what is best
for themselves, and many abnormalities are hard to treat or untreatable.
A course of rehabilitation begins by making as complete an assessment of
a monkey's history as possible, then catering its care accordingly.
These are some of the questions to answer when assessing a monkey:
PRIMATE PROFILE Monkey's Age. Sex. Species. Check one hysterectomy
(partial or complete) vasectomized, or castrated. Number of previous
owners. Was monkey hand-reared or mother-reared? What types of abnormal
behavior, if any, does it appear to display? Can its origins be I
identifled? (These can be monitored as future indicators of stress.) Has
he or she lived with other monkeys before? At what stages of development
did it live with others; were they peers, older adults or young? Does
monkey respond to conspecifics with natural behaviors and vocalizations?
How do they respond in return? If monkey lived alone, has there been
contact with other monkeys? Was it positive or nega tive? Are there any
health problems or disabilities? Does the monkey have all teeth
intact, or are teeth altered or missing? What kind of group structure
exists for this species in the wild (How many in troop, ratio male to
female, etc?) What is the natural habitat of this monkey's species like
(climate, food sources and diet, arboreal or terrestrial? How does this
monkey locomote? How does this monkey's species obtain food (by foraging
on the ground, plucking from trees, etc?) Was this monkey previously
housed indoors or outdoors? In how large a space? What has this monkey's
diet been like; does it accept monkey chow and other wholesome foods?
What was the climate like where this monkey is from? What forms of
enrichment has this monkey enjoyed in the past? There may be items not
on this list that you consider important when compiling your monkey's
personal profile.
With a better understanding of what makes your monkey who it is, you
can now proceed towards creating an environment that reflects its needs.
Rather than creating a book on many of the enrichment techniques already
invented, this portion will discuss the elements of enrichment for
prevention or therapy, and present ideas to get a caretaker started. The
wonderftil thing about enrichment is that many of the ideas need not be
expensive to implement and ways to enrich are limited only by a
caretaker's imagination. To begin, look at the goals you are trying to
achieve when making a home for a captive monkey:
SECURITY The condition or feeling of being safe or sure. Freedom from
danger, fear, doubt. In order for a monkey to reap the benefits of an
enriched environment, it must have the foundation of security. Without
this, stress will interfere with a monkey's feeling of contentment This
translates for example, into safe, secure housing, compatible
relationships free of continuous strife, and the security of positive
experiences with a caretaker.
STABILITY The condition of being stable, not likely to change, lasting.
This is one of the reasons a caretaker's commitment is so important.
This feeling comes from a routine, and freedom from the anxiety of
never being sure what to expect. Ways to develop a routine can be
feeding times, time for "lights out", etc.
SENSE OF CONTROL The ability to exert a certain amount of control over
one's environment. This ability goes a long way in the treatment of
frustration and subsequently aggression. The choice of whether to be
indoors or out, the choice to move objects within an enclosure, the
ability to move out in the open or into an enclosed space for privacy,
for example, are ways to achieve a sense of control.
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT The practice of positive support rather than
negative punishment Monkeys respond with much more growth to reward and
support than they do to punishment or antagonistic husbandry. A hostile
relationship with a caretaker or other humans is a great source of
stress and frustration for which a monkey will respond to with
aggression and negative actions.
OPPORTUNITY FOR NORMAL BEHAVIORS By understanding your monkey's normal
behavior, you can create opportunities to express itself naturally,
rather than adapting negative abnormal ways to cope in an environment.
This is achieved by creating ways of mimicking the natural environment
your monkey evolved for: Recreating some elements of the social
structure, furnishing a cage to allow for its special way of traveling
about, thinking up ways to make gathering food more like it would be in
the wild, creating an environment that makes a monkey think, feel,
manipulate and learn.
some final thoughts .......
It should be taken into account that many of these goals are not rigid
in their structure. For example, a large bird flying over an outdoor
enclosure may seem to a monkey to threaten its security. On the other
hand, it is an opportunity to practice communication skills, and bring
monkeys together against a common enemy. In this way, stress is a
positive way to promote natural behavior. Varying feeding times or
treats occasionally can add variety and enrichment by the nature of
surprise. Preventing a monkey from entering a certain part of an
enclosure except for "special time" takes away a sense of control, but
adds novelty to the environment. Therefore, a little stress can be
healthy and challenging for a captive monkey. Brad and Trouble