Piggy-back
- Infants are carried ‘piggy-back’
- Infants carried on the back at all times
- Marmosets are able to run and climb with the infants on their back
Developmental Stages
Cooperative Care
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Mother, father and other members of the group (usually the babies’ brothers and sisters) all help to rear the young
- Take turns carrying the infants
- May also allow the youngsters to take solid food from them (passive provisioning)
- Marmosets normally give birth to twins
- Triplets are increasingly common in captivity but marmoset families usually cannot rear all three so one often dies
- The quality of the environment is an important influence during early development
Up to 3 Weeks
‘Taking Turns’
- The load is shared: infants are transferred from back to back
Around 4 Weeks
Encouragement to Get Off Back
- Encouragement to get off back
- In captivity the infants can start to leave the carrier’s back at an earlier age than in the wild
- Sometimes the youngsters need some encouragement and the adult will give them small nips and ‘wipe’ them off onto the surface
Exploration
- Infants begin to become interested and explore their environment through touching, licking and smelling
- They leave the carrier’s backs for progressively longer periods of time
- Infants’ first social interactions happen whilst still being carried by other group members
Influence of Enrichment
- Enrichment affects infant development
- Youngsters start performing some behaviours earlier in an enriched environment (including: gnawing wood, exploration and scent marking and begging towards care staff)
- Extra enrichment can be provided by: a hanging cloth; a variety of regularly changed different textured novel objects to touch and move; an artificial gum tree; etc.)
Danger
- The nearby group members remain alert and vigilant for possible sources of danger
- The youngsters are then picked up by their carrier
- If startled, the infants will return to the back for protection
After 8 weeks
Hitching a Ride
- Older youngsters are only carried occasionally
Weaning
Weaning from the mother's milk occurs earlier in captivity (6 weeks) than in the wild (8-10 weeks).
Suckling
- Infants suckle to drink milk from their mother
Solid Food
- Infants taste solid food before weaning