Baby Monkey

Baby Monkey (scientific name Galago senegalensis), also known as Senegal Baby Monkey, is a small nocturnal primate belonging to the Baby Monkey family. They have large eyes, strong hind limbs, and long tails. They feed on insects and other small animals, fruits, and tree sap. It is the only genus in the subfamily Galagoninae of the family Galagonidae. The body is small, generally about the size of a squirrel, arboreal, and active at night. They are agile and good at jumping, with a leap of 3 to 5 meters. The neck is very flexible and can rotate 180 degrees backwards. Each chest and abdomen has a pair of nipples. Baby monkeys share some similarities with sloths in terms of their appearance and were once classified in the Sloth family.

Chinese name: 婴猴

Latin name: Galago senegalensis

Alias: Bushbaby, Jungle Baby

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Subclass: Eutheria

Order: Primates

Suborder: Strepsirrhini

Family: Galagonidae

Genus: Galago

Species: Galago senegalensis

Distribution area: Central Africa

Pinyin: yīnghóu

English name: Northern lesser galago

Baby monkeys are distributed in southern Africa. They live in tropical rainforests, sparse savannas, and shrub grasslands. The Thick-tailed baby monkey is the largest in this genus and is found in Angola; the Lesser bushbaby is the smallest and is found in Central Africa; the Baby monkey is distributed in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania; the Needle-clawed baby monkey is found in the forests between the Congo and Kloss rivers; the East African Needle-clawed baby monkey is distributed in Central Africa and Zaire; the Black-tailed baby monkey is found in Cameroon.

Suggested for enthusiasts to keep,

Baby Monkey is a non-endangered animal. It mainly feeds on insects, other small animals, fruits, and tree juice. Larger species also eat lizards, bird eggs, and can even catch flying birds and rodents.

1. Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is a severe acute inflammation of the gastric and intestinal mucosa and its deep tissues.

Symptoms: In the early stage, the affected monkeys show indigestion and loss of appetite; diarrhea is watery to pasty, and in severe cases, it turns into purulent bloody stools with a yellowish-red color, mixed with pus, blood streaks, and mucus. At this point, the affected monkeys become lethargic, lose hair, and die. They have drooping heads, loss of appetite, decreased body temperature, and die of shock.

Treatment method: Refer to the treatment of bacterial dysentery.

2. Bacterial Dysentery

Bacterial dysentery is a rapidly spreading disease that frequently occurs in the monkey community, especially in newly introduced monkeys who are dehydrated due to hunger and extreme thirst during transportation and then overeat and overdrink upon arrival, causing indigestion and diarrhea. If not treated promptly, it quickly develops into dysentery. The main symptoms are lethargy, decreased appetite, and complete loss of appetite. Severe dehydration occurs, with sunken eye sockets, emaciation, decreased body temperature, cold hands and feet, drooping heads, and curled-up bodies, and death occurs within 1-2 days.

Treatment method: The treatment methods for enteritis and dysentery are generally similar, but different drugs should be used for treatment based on changes in the condition. When a diseased monkey is found, it should be immediately isolated and treated, and the monkey room should be thoroughly disinfected. The entire monkey population should be medicated. Generally, broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs such as tetracycline are taken orally, with an average of 2 tablets (0.5 grams) per monkey, once a day for 2-3 days. Comprehensive treatment should be administered to diseased monkeys, including oral sulfasalazine (SG) twice a day, 0.5 grams each time, with an initial dose of 1 gram; intramuscular injections of gentamicin and berberine or xie-xin-lian injection, one dose for adult monkeys with reduced dosage for young monkeys. If there is no improvement after 2 consecutive days, oral fluorouracil should be administered, 1-2 times a day, 200 milligrams each time, or fluorouracil should be dissolved in 20 milliliters of warm water and slowly administered to the stomach through a catheter inserted through the nostril. Intramuscular injections of chloramphenicol and baibingling, 500,000 units per dose for adult monkeys with reduced dosage for young monkeys, once a day for 3-4 consecutive days. At the same time, careful nursing should be provided, and more fruits or easily digestible foods should be fed. Some glucose can be added to the drinking water. This treatment method has a high cure rate, reaching over 95%.

3. Pneumonia

Due to changes in the weather, adult monkeys or young monkeys who are weak are prone to catch colds, and if not treated promptly, they quickly develop into pneumonia and die. Therefore, when a diseased monkey is found, cold medicine should be administered immediately, and in severe cases, injections are also needed. Commonly used drugs include chaihu injection and bingdu ling injection, with the same dosage for intramuscular injection as in humans. For newly arrived monkeys or sudden weather changes, it is best to boil water with herbs such as sesame, bottle gourd tea, daqing herb, guyang herb, pineapple leaves, and leafy trees, and allow monkeys to drink freely to prevent colds. This not only saves medical expenses but also has good preventive effects.

Pneumonia is one of the most common acute infectious diseases in the monkey community, and there are many types of pathogenic bacteria, mainly caused by pneumococcus infection through the respiratory tract. If diseased monkeys are discovered and isolated and treated in a timely manner, they can be easily cured.

Symptoms: Similar to human pneumonia, it develops rapidly, mainly manifested as cough, fever, and when severe, prone position with abdominal breathing, decreased appetite or complete loss of appetite, obvious wet rales on auscultation, irregular heart rhythm, and dullness on percussion.

Treatment method: Oral tetracycline or erythromycin, 2 tablets per day for adult monkeys; intramuscular injections of penicillin (2 times a day, 400,000 units each time) combined with streptomycin (2 times a day, 500,000 units each time, with reduced dosage of 100,000-200,000 units for young monkeys). For severe coughing, use antitussive medication (compound licorice solution) with some sugar water, and administer it through gavage or allow the monkey to drink freely. The above treatment method has a cure rate of over 95%.

Baby monkeys, like other species of monkeys, enjoy eating fruits and insects, especially locusts. In the wild, they usually gather in small groups to forage for plants, flowers, fruits, seeds, and more. Some with a strong palate also eat lizards and bird eggs. They can even catch flying birds and rodents.

When shining a light source into the eyes of a baby monkey at night, the reflected light appears red to our naked eyes, rather than the blue light seen in canines.

Baby monkeys can start reproducing at the age of four months. They practice polygamy, and reproduce twice a year, in November and February respectively, with each litter consisting of 1 to 3 offspring. The gestation period is approximately 110 to 120 days.

Every day, it is carefully taken care of, and its fur is combed every day. The little baby monkey is also very cooperative with its owner. When the owner combs its fur, it enjoys it with a face. The next little movement made the owner bend over with laughter.