how come most people think having a small pet monkey is a bad idea?

Answer 1

My opinion is to listen to the experts:
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/primates/a/primatesaspets.htm
states:
Medical Issues
A wide range of diseases can be passed from monkeys to humans. See "Zoonoses Acquired from Pet Primates" by David M. Renquist, D.V.M., M.A. and Robert A. Whitney, Jr., D.V.M., M.S. for a thorough discussion of this aspect. Finding a vet who is able and willing to treat a primate may also be difficult. Monkeys are also susceptible to a variety of illnesses of humans, which can be devastating for the monkey.

Aggression
The sweet dependent baby monkey will eventually grow up, and become the wild animal it was meant to be. Unfortunately, raising a monkey around humans doesn't change the wild nature of monkey, and in fact depriving a pet monkey of normal social relationships with other monkeys can create behavior problems and neuroses.

Pet monkeys also have a tendency to bite. They have different personalities so one cannot generalize, but some monkeys will be very aggressive, and others will be more docile. Nevertheless, monkeys are unpredictable and may turn aggressively on anyone, including the person to whom they are the closest.

The Mess
Monkeys are messy. They can't really be effectively toilet trained (many younger monkeys can be diapered or at least partly toilet trained, but that is often lost at maturity) and sometimes engage in distasteful activities involving their feces and urine.

Aside from the toileting messes, pet monkeys can be extremely mischievous and destructive, especially if bored.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0916_030916_primatepets.html states: As babies these big-eyed, furry creatures may seem harmless. But once they reach sexual maturity, experts warn, monkeys can become aggressive. And some primates harbor deadly diseases, like herpes B, that they can pass on to human primates via bites and scratches.

http://www.blackpineanimalpark.com/pets/monkeys.htm lists dozens of incidents of pet primates attacking people.

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/pets.htm tells us: To be made into a "pet," baby primates are taken away from their mothers when only hours or days old. Evolved to have continual (24 hr/day) body contact with their moms, infant primates are left to hug towels or stuffed animals. Depression is not restricted to human primates, these infants and mothers typically suffer depression from the forced separation. Infant females taken away from their mothers' care don't develop the parental skills necessary to raise their own young. A vicious cycle of rejected infants that must be raised by humans in order to physically survive is started. Non-human primates are intelligent, curious and active. Unless caged, they can destroy furniture, curtains and any household decorations. They can throw their food around and easily rip off their diapers and soil the house. Tired of dealing with the array of problems caused by pet primate ownership, most owners end up wanting to get rid of their pet. Lacking infant appeal, adult non-human primates are difficult to place. They may be transferred from inadequate to bad to worse homes, bought by an animal dealer or sent to an animal auction, shot or euthanized. Exotic animal sanctuaries are at capacity, zoos don't have the space for former pets. Rarely is the story ending a happy one. Baby primates raised to adulthood by humans have not acquired all the necessary social skills to live with others of their own kind. If an owner is able to convince a sanctuary or roadside zoo to take his pet, integrating the imprinted primate into a peer group can be life threatening. Sending inappropriate signals to its new and strange companions, the former pet can be harassed, intimidated, and even attacked. If accepted, ex-pets can nevertheless remain social outcasts, individuals who through no fault of their own are caught between two worlds and can't live successfully in either. Neurotic behavior and depression are common consequences. You may be the best pet-primate owner in the world, but by purchasing an infant primate, you are perpetuating a business that leads to miserable lives for many of the very animals you profess to adore.

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/should_wild_animals_be_kept_as_pets/fact_and_fiction_monkeys_and_apes_as_pets.html tells us: Although it is illegal to import primates into the United States for the pet trade, there is still a booming market for wild-caught primates for pets in South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition, the expanding bushmeat trade creates numerous orphan animals who end up as pets. The misleading fiction that primates make cuddly pets promotes this trade. Regardless of the source of a primate pet, the message sent by such animals being desired as pets keeps the demand for, and consequently, the supply of animals in motion.

For any/all of the above reasons, I do not think a monkey is a good choice for a pet.

Answer 2

Monkeys are generally an endangered species. Having a pet monkey may seem wonderful at first, however, after a few months, the monkey becomes "old", and perhaps more demanding in terms of food and walks. It may have certain stages in its development where it starts to become agressive as well.

Answer 3

First because it's more responsibility than most people have time for or can handle. They need a lot of stimulation and enrichment to mimic their natural environment. Also, monkeys who are not around other monkeys of their species tend to develop social and mental problems. They can be come self destructive and harmful to anyone around them.

Second, monkeys can carry diseases. The most dangerous to humans is TB. Even if a monkey tests negative for TB his whole life, he can seroconvert in times of stress or as he ages.

Third, it's not legal in some states/countries to own a pet monkey. The laws exist for a reason. They can be too dangerous to people.

Perhaps if you've worked with monkeys in a controlled environment (i.e. zoo, research) and THEN decided you wanted one as a pet after you learned how demanding of your time they would be, it would be a responsible decision. Otherwise, you're getting yourself in way too deep.

Answer 4

Most people think it is bad because monkeys, like people, get attached to their mothers. And the mothers, also like people, get attached to thier babies. In order for someone to have a pet monkey they rip the baby from the mom just so someone can have a "cute pet". Also monkeys are not 'obedient'. They do what they want, when they want. They can be very messy and also are prone to agression. Just a few reasons.

Answer 5

Monkeys are active creatures and 1. that means it'd not be an easy job taking care of them, bathing, etc. 2. enclosing them in a cage (which is the easiest thing to do) is "cruel" to them and overly restricts their movements.

Monkeys are not animals that are suited for domestication either and it can be difficult to get them to cooperate, which may result in aggressive tendencies towards humans, such as scratching.

They can also pass on a variety of diseases, and are MESSY. They poo as and when they wish, and I've read many times that they go as far as to fling it. When in bad moods they can also cause damage and destruction to property. Furthermore it's also expensive to feed monkeys.

Basically, monkeys are really, really high maintenance pets. A lot of responsibility and time is needed to take care of them.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

They're very high maintenance animals, not domesticated, can bite, are very smart, catch illness very easily, and are hard to feed adequately. Not for the average person.

Most small monkeys are endangered, making it illegal to have one as a pet. They're also group animals, which you'd be trying to raise in a solitary environment, very bad mentally for the monkey.

Answer 7

Monkeys are extremely intelligent and have the same kind of thumbs you do, therefore they can get into as much mischief as a bratty 2 year old kid. They also require a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to stay healthy and a lot of intellectual stimulation. It would be the same as having a small child who was never potty-trained demanding your attention ALL the time. Very hard to keep.

Answer 8

Here Is A List Of Weird And Wacky Pets That I Think Are Cool: Snake Turtle Lizard Chameleon Spider Frog Hope this has help and you find a cool pet!

Answer 9

Monkeys do not make good pets. There is simply no way to care for them thoroughly or safely in one's home. One of their most basic needs is inclusion in a proper social group of their own species, so the fact that you want "a" monkey is a red flag. (If you're now thinking of having several monkeys, forget it, they'll put you in the hospital in no time.)

Aside from the harm this would do to the monkey and to yourself, think of what it takes to bring one monkey to the USA for the exotic pet trade. The answer is the deaths of countless other monkeys. Primate social groups are so tightly knit that they will defend the babies to their deaths, so those who collect baby monkeys to be sold as pets must first kill all adult members of the troop. Even after that is done, only a small fraction of the babies captured survive the transport. By purchasing a pet monkey, you would be supporting this business and ensuring its continuation.

I am a professional primate keeper at a zoo. (Don't get me started about all the private monkey owners who try to dump their animals on us...) One of our gibbons was a victim of this practice. She was kidnapped from the wild as an infant, and her fingers cut off to separate her from her dead mother, to whom she'd been clinging. She then lived as a pet for the first three years of her life, after which her owner had to get rid of her because she had grown too strong, intelligent, and wild to keep. She's lived at my zoo ever since. Having been raised by a human, she was never able to learn how to survive among others of her species, so she must be housed alone. My co-workers and I go to great lengths to provide her with the highest quality of life possible. It is a heartbreaking situation, and it exists because of people who purchase primates as pets.

Also worth noting is that, of the hundreds of employees at my zoo, there are only two groups whose job is deemed dangerous enough that they must carry pepper spray on their persons. One is the large carnivore keepers. The other is the primate keepers, and that includes *all* primates, from tamarins and lemurs to great apes.

Answer 10

monkeys can be great pets, but they need a lot of devotion and hard work. they can be pretty high maintanance. if they dont have the environment, care and attention that they need, they can become vicious and they can attack humans. i dont know how you are with animals, but be your own judge.... do you have a lot of experience, and are you willing to do a lot of hard work, and give the monkey a lot of your time? if so, then i dont see any reason not to have one!