Weight: 13 to 25 pounds
Head & Body: 19 to 20"
Tail: 27 to 30 inches, very prehensile
Lifespan: 30 to 40 years
Females tend to be a little larger and heavier than males. They have very long arms and legs and even just the tip of their tail can support the weight of their entire body. Spider monkeys have no thumbs or it is reduced to a nub. There are four basic species of spiders:
BLACK-HANDED or GEOFFROY - Their color ranges greatly
from black, brown, silver, to rust. Several subspecies have
flesh-colored rings around the eyes and their hands and feet are usually
black.
BROWN HEADED - Black with a brown head or all black with a
few white hairs on the chin. Infants have a pink face and ears.
WHITE-BELLIED - Black to light brown on back with a light
colored stomach area. They may have a white patched triangle on their
forehead and some have white sideburns.
BLACK SPIDER - Black all over with a light pink to gray face.
Their tail is very thick at the base.
They are non-seasonal breeders and have a gestation period of 225 to 230 days. They give birth to one baby, which is dependent on her for the first two to three years of life. By the fourth or fifth month they start consuming solid foods. Females usually give birth every three to four years.
They are often found in groups of up to thirty individuals, but this is usually broken up into smaller groups of three or four individuals. In most cases, males are more dominant and aggressive than females. Grooming is seen more often between mothers and their young than between other individuals
Since they swing, move hand over hand while hanging, leap, and move bipedally and quadrupedally, they require a large cage that will accommodate all of this behavior. You can provide horizontal poles which permit swinging and branciating, lots of space between climbing structures to promote leaping, and platforms of varying widths to make space for walking upright and on all fours.
As with all monkeys, spiders need a varied and healthy diet. A breakdown of their diet structure is: 80% commercial monkey biscuit, 10% fresh fruit and vegetables, 5% browsing foods (leaves, plants and stems, seeds, nuts, grains), and 5% insects.
The resource for this document is THE PRIMATE CARE HANDBOOK and can be ordered from the publisher, the Simian Society of America.
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