Activity

Food Finding Activities

• Marmosets can get bored if food is quick to find
• Boredom is a problem because it can lead to a reduction in welfare through increased stress and abnormal behaviours
• In the wild a lot of their day is spent foraging for food
• Marmosets enjoy working for their food

Film Canisters on Board

• Film canisters, with lid half-on and containing fruit, provide a challenge
• Canisters can be fixed to plastic board using plastic cable ties

Egg Box

• An egg box filled with sawdust and treats can be tied to a solid surface, using bleach-free string
• Important: always ensure that any egg boxes used do not carry disease

Forage Box

• A plastic box can also be baited with food

Hamster Wheel

• Food placed into a hamster wheel moves when marmosets jump in to reach it
• As the wheel moves underneath their feet they use their tails for balance
• The wheel is restricted in movement: a very important safety measure to ensure that the tail cannot be trapped in the wheel

Hanging Film Canisters

• Empty films canisters hanging upright with treats inside require gymnastics to reach
• Fill with artificial gum; mashed banana; raisins

Stuffed Toilet Roll

• Food can be hidden inside an empty toilet roll stuffed with crumpled bits of bleach-free paper or straw.

Food Hidden in Hanging Architecture

• Food hidden in hanging structures encourages exploration and requires balance to reach

Encouraging Play

• Play can be encouraged by placing novel objects into the enclosure
• Care should be taken to ensure that such novel objects do not present any safety risks (avoid risk of choking, strangling, etc.)
• Items soft in texture, so warm to touch, and with folds in which to hide are particularly effective
• Marmosets enjoy the feel of the material and this encourages them to touch it and to relax and roll around on it

Cats Radiator Cradle

• Provides an elevated place to hide and play
• Also serves as an extra perch for grooming which is soft in texture

Cat Basket

• A soft fleece-lined cats basket provides somewhere to hide and wrestle
• Objects on the floor can tempt marmosets down so that this under-used area of the enclosure is used (however, remember that marmosets prefer to spend their time high up being arboreal)
• The unexpected ‘give’ in the basket roof when a marmoset leaps demands quick balancing

Tea-towel Hammock

• Tie each end of a tea towel with un-bleached string and suspend high above floor
• Cheap, easy way to provide movement and a soft-textured, place to sit high up

Feathers in Box

• A box of loose feathers provides a soft place in which to wrestle and play
• Loose feathers can be carried around by marmosets because they weigh little
• They can move in an unpredictable way – e.g. if one end gets chewed then the other end gets pounced on by others

Fleece Pillow-case

• A fleece pillow case offers a soft texture and encourages the marmosets to play
• They can hide in the soft folds of the material

Other Activities to keep marmosets busy

Remote-controlled Tarantula

• The introduction and especially the movement of this toy initially attracts attention and collective investigation

Sounds of Other Animals

• Sounds of prey, and of birds (limited playback advised), can be played to marmosets to provide auditory enrichment
• Marmosets are likely to attend to the noise and may approach the source

Mirror

• Marmosets are not thought to be able to recognise the image in the mirror as themselves
• They may see the image in the mirror as another marmoset
• Mirrors provide unexpected views that fascinate infant marmosets

Novel Object

• Novelty is important to keep attention high
• In this video, a group of marmosets investigate what is a novel object to them at this stage: the Cat Basket
• They are still in control because they can run away from it if they begin to feel uncertain or threatened

Important: Always assess safety of any enrichment before and after introduction.