Sugar glider vs. Marmoset monkey...

[mat_worrell]

Hi all
as you can see from my previous post I have been toting with the idea of owning a pair of marmoset monkeys. However ..... I have spoke to a guy that is a fountain of knowledge and experience and he has suggested a pair of sugar gliders rather than the marmosets. My ownly concen is the amount of mess sugars make. I understand and appriciate that marmosets will make mess too but to be honest I have my heart set on marmosets and would prefer to put the time and effort into looking after the marmosets if the sugar gliders are going to be as much work and create the same sort of mess.

I was sold on the idea of a pair of sugar gliders untill today. I visited a couple who own them and the Walls, floor, ceiling and everything for about a foot around the cage was covered in s**t and food and all sorts.

Is this just a case of the couple just not cleaning them correctly and on a regular basis or is this what they are like to keep? As I said i have my heart set on the marmosets and understand the work and time involved in the care of them so please no lectures on your personal opinions on the captive keeping of marmosets. Plus I have spent the last few years researching marmosets.

Thanks

[Zoo-Man]

Hi Matt, if you have your heart set on Marmosets, & you have researched them well (you have PM'd me a few times), then go for them! I must say, i don't find them particularly difficult to keep.

[Rum_Kitty]

Originally Posted by mat_worrell

Hi all
as you can see from my previous post I have been toting with the idea of owning a pair of marmoset monkeys. However ..... I have spoke to a guy that is a fountain of knowledge and experience and he has suggested a pair of sugar gliders rather than the marmosets. My ownly concen is the amount of mess sugars make. I understand and appriciate that marmosets will make mess too but to be honest I have my heart set on marmosets and would prefer to put the time and effort into looking after the marmosets if the sugar gliders are going to be as much work and create the same sort of mess.

I was sold on the idea of a pair of sugar gliders untill today. I visited a couple who own them and the Walls, floor, ceiling and everything for about a foot around the cage was covered in s**t and food and all sorts.

Is this just a case of the couple just not cleaning them correctly and on a regular basis or is this what they are like to keep? As I said i have my heart set on the marmosets and understand the work and time involved in the care of them so please no lectures on your personal opinions on the captive keeping of marmosets. Plus I have spent the last few years researching marmosets.

Thanks

If you really want marms get marms....but TBH it sounds like that couple are just a bit lax on the cleaning! I wipe down the walls behind my sug cage a few times a week, takes 2 minutes to do! I can't really see marms being any less messy tbh!

[xXFooFooLaFluffXx]

sugar gliders and marms dont even compare with eachother, totally different animals to keep so not sure why someone recommended sugars over marms

sugar gliders can be messy yes but i love keepin suggies, and baby suggies are amazin!

[pookey]

I have kept many animals over the years including marmosets .They have a strong musky odour. I also have to tell you that my ones, even the females pee out of their cages and its often! Obviouisly with all animals cleaning and maintaining a good standard of hygiene is important.They are not difficult to keep but daily cleaning is a must as with most animals. you seem to have done your research, good luck!

[mmcdermid]

to be honest, i think the mess caused by either a marm or sugars is going to be fairly similar. as said before the musky sweet fruity pissy spell from marmosets is pretty much unstoppable. believe me, we clean ours daily but the smell is still present. and its very true, both males and females like to piss out of their cage, so cleaning around their enclosure is as important as inside! the only other issue being space as marmosets obviously need alot more space than sugars. my marmosets are very friendly although they still maintain a very monkeyish bond to each other. as such i very much enjoy keeping them. im not the fountain of knowledge on marmosets and i dont believe that anyone keeper can be either. as marmosets through up something new everyday so its a continuous learning curve. but if you have any other enquiries, then please pm me. matt

[Zoo-Man]

One important point when cleaning marmoset enclosures - I never disinfect all the branches/items in my marmoset aviary. You should always leave some items untouched until the next cleaning, as marmosets use their urine to mark territory, & by removing all the scent from their aviary furniture, they will be rather anxious.

[mmcdermid]

oh yeah, thats a good point i forgot to make. cheers zoo-man. also another big difference, i dont know if it matters to you, but the price.

[lizard queen]

all those things are true. i wouldn't give my marms up for anything, i don't mind cleaning up after them because i love having them so much. it all boils down to one thing - you want marms, not sugar gliders. so if your about to commit to caring for something why settle for anything other than you number 1 choice?

[mat_worrell]

Thanks for the tips guys. Think I am going to stick to the marmosets. Carry on researching and asking questions. And hopefully the next set of twins zoo-man has will be coming home with me.