Sometimes, Marmoset females will give birth to more than the usual 2 babies. Because the mother is only equipped to handle 2 at a time, this third baby, or runt, needs to be taken away and Hand Reared.
This is not, as you may think, an act of cruelty to this monkey. Rather, an act of kindness. As the mother will not be able to feed this third baby, it stands a significant chance of suffering from severe Malnutrition and stunted growth, and in most cases, can lead to the babies death within the first weeks of life
Once removed from the mother, the baby has to be kept warm at all times (between 25-28C). Using a wooden nesting box, with a heating pad inside of it, can be an ideal living environment.
The baby's diet consists of warm baby's milk, which you feed to them through a syringe with a specialized teat, or nipple, attached to the head. as time progresses, and the baby grows older, you will start to incrementally add baby porridge into the milk. This helps to supply extra nutrients to the baby and also starts to get the baby used to the idea of solid foods once they are older. The familial bond is also a very important factor, and whoever is caring and Hand Rearing the baby, must be aware that the baby needs extra love and attention to develop this bond.
PLEASE NOTE: If you think that Hand rearing a monkey is easy, think again. It is extremely hard work and requires dedication and a lot of hard work. A good example is that a newborn baby must be woken up every 2 hours (even through the night). Newborn babies, just like humans, have not yet developed their bowel muscles, and so will need to be "helped" and stimulated manually after each feeding. Using a cotton wool swab, or a wet wipe, soaked in warm water to wipe the groin area is the easiest way to mimic how a monkeys mother would lick them to clean any mess and stimulate bowel movement.
A basic guideline for how much your baby should be eating through the early stages of their lives is supplied below:
Feeding and Quantity of milk per feeding
Age --------- Quantity
1-3 days ---- 0.3-0.5 ml
3-7 days ---- 0.5-1.0 ml
1-2 weeks ---- 1-2 ml
2-3 weeks ---- 2-3 ml
3-4 weeks ---- 3-5 ml
4-5 weeks ---- 3-6 ml
5-6 weeks ---- 6-9 ml
6-8 weeks ---- 6-15 ml
Note:
This is only a guideline and every baby differs. Make sure that you Do Not Overfeed the baby. They will generally turn their heads away from the nipple once they have had enough. Once this happens, stop and do not forcefeed.
