How Do You Rate Yourself?
Complete the following 50 questions by writing down the
number that best describes you on a scale of 1-10 (10 being
highest) in each category. When finished, add up your total score
to find out where you rank (Make sure to be honest with yourself,
there is no one looking over your shoulder)
1) Love of animals
2) Love of monkeys
3) Patience to deal with personality traits
4) Patience to deal with refusal to eat or take medications
5) Patience to deal with monkey's natural tendency to "get
into things"
6) You are sensitive
7) Empathetic
8) Generally tolerant
9) Consistent
10) Forgiving
11) Understanding
12) Calm and mature temperament
13) Stable life-style
14) Supportive family
15) Able to manage family care and needs around monkey care
16) Can cope if monkey doesn't like one or more family members
17) Aptitude for understanding behavior
18) Willing to learn humane animal training techniques
19) Flexible in expectations
--(My favorite age for an animal is--rate each below)--
20) Infant--cute, docile, round-eyed, dependent, obedient
21) Adolescent--boisterous, rebellious, into things, destructive
22) Adult--more set in ways, less playful, potential for serious
aggression, facial features have lost that "baby" look
23) You are financially secure
24) Able to budget for extra monkey expenses
25) Able to work hard to get cleanups done
26) Tolerant of food waste
27) Tolerant of noncompliant behaviors
28) Tolerant of messiness, dirtiness, urine, feces
29) Tolerant of biting or other aggressive behaviors
30) Tolerant of a monkey's sexual behaviors
31) Tolerant of feces or urine odor
32) Have creative problem solving skills
33) Willingness to compromise to accommodate monkey behaviors and
needs
34) Have keen observation skills
35) Able to stay interested, emotionally committed
36) Able to devote daily blocks of time to play and grooming
37) Consistent in feeding and cleanup
38) Good at carrying out repetitive daily care
39) Committed for the long haul, a monkey's 20-40 year life span
40) Time to shop for and prepare fresh produce
41) Good at meeting repetitive feeding requirements
42) Willing to monkey-proof house (put breakables away, etc.)
43) Willing to buy toys for enrichment
44) Willingness to provide a social companion
45) Willing to buy vitamins and special food needs
46) Have time and $ for well-checks and vet visits
47) Willing to provide house space for indoor monkey cage, toys
48) Willingness to spend extra $ on proper sized exercise cage
49) Willing to seek further education on monkey care/behavior
50) Willing to check on permit requirements, to comply to state/city
regulations, to pay fees & have inspections if required
What is your Total Score? Use the
Rating Chart below to assess your aptitude.........
50-199=low aptitude
200-350=medium aptitude
351-500=high aptitude
Put yourself in the monkey's place....
When you reflect on your caretaker rating, you will see that
it takes more than love to carry out the task of proper monkey
care. In short, monkeys require special understanding and
sacrifice, are expensive to own and need a daily investment of
time spent on feeding, cleaning, socializing and care.
© 1996 Monkey Matters Magazine
If you would like more information, or have questions about the
article, you can contact Monkey Matters Magazine at info@monkeymatters.com