Zoo database

Brown-headed spider monkey

Ateles fusciceps

Natural diet Brown-headed spider monkey

Fruits
Grain / seeds
Leaves

Brown-headed spider monkeys are herbivorous primates that prefer ripe fruits and leaves. Besides this, they also eat seeds and occasionally bark and insects.

Feeding advice Brown-headed spider monkey

Feed quantity per day

10-15% of body weight

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 7 kg and eats 15% of its body weight, it will get

7 x 0.15 = 1.05 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

2% Insects and other invertebrates
10% Concentrates
40% Leafy and cabbage vegetables
30% Other vegetables
10% Browse
8% Other

Proportions (fresh product)

0.02 x 1.05 kg = 21 g insects and other invertebrates
0.1 x 1.05 kg = 105 g concentrates
0.4 x 1.05 kg = 420 g leafy and cabbage vegetables
0.3 x 1.05 kg = 315 g other vegetables
0.1 x 1.05 kg = 105 g browse
0.08 x 1.05 kg = 84 g other

Diet suggestions

In moderation

Insects

Not recommended

Fruits

Additional advice

Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least three feeding moments per day.
Although present in their natural diet, feeding fruits might lead to abnormal fermentation in the hindgut because of high sugar levels in cultivated fruits compared to wild fruits (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
Supplement the diet with sufficient vitamin D and folic acid. When feeding appropriate concentrates, this is not necessary.
Supplement a diverse selection of vegetables (read more about differences between vegetables).
Provide less palatable food in the morning, when hunger is greatest.
Feeding in bowls is not recommended.
Stimulate foraging behaviour by hiding, stacking or hanging the feed. Examples can be feeding puzzles, tubes, hanging boxes and/ or scatter feeding (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

Periodontal disease
Reproductive failure
Cardiovascular disease
Diabetes mellitus
Gastrointestinal problems

Feed quantity per day

Sample percentage calculation

Feed composition

Proportions (fresh product)

Birch leaves - 10-20 kg bag

Willow frozen - ca. 300 kg

DK New World primate

DK Leaf-eater S

DK Leaf-eater Basic

Primate diet GO 2 Glutenfree

José Blom

Finance