IS THAT HAIR IN YOUR MOUTH?

This article is about the habit of hair-eating in monkeys and a possible
problem.

My rhesus macaque, Lucy started eating hair a few months after she came into
our home.  She would pull a few strands of my hair out and eat them.  When I
stopped her from pulling out my hair she turned to finding hair laying on the
carpet. At first we didn't realize she was actually eating the hair.  We soon
recognized that was exactly what she spent most of her time doing.  I asked
my vet if this was normal.  He said, "Sure, it goes right through them.  A
lot of monkeys do this."

Well, we let her keep eating hair that she found.  She would rather eat hair
than anything else.  She also liked string, thread, fiberfill, anything like
that.  I knew that she could not eat these other things because they might
cause blockage or bind the intestines.  As soon as I saw that she would eat
things like that, I was careful to keep them out of her reach.

Lucy was maturing and gaining weight.  We had her ovaries removed and I saw
a reversal in sexual changes.  After a couple of months I noticed she seemed
thinner.  I took her to the vet.  Dr. J was the only vet that I knew would
treat primates.  He could not find anything wrong with Lucy on examination. 
He did blood tests.  There was no temperature and she looked fine.  I
mentioned that she was eating a lot of hair.  He was not concerned that it
was a problem.

A few weeks later, I noticed she had diarrhea and her appetite was not
normal.  She did not seem to be as active.  I called my vet and told him what
was happening.  He had me start her on Kaopectate and hold her food for 24
hours.  I again mentioned the hair eating.  He asked how much she was eating.
 A lot.  He was still sure that it would pass through her system.  We kept
waiting and gave her Kaopectate every day.

Her diarrhea did not let up.  I tried Imodium AD.  Still no relief.  We are
talking watery diarrhea at every bowel movement.  I finally took her to the
vet again.  Her blood tests looked fine.  He did abdominal X-rays and saw an
area that looked suspicious.  We debated over doing an upper GI or
exploratory surgery.  We had been seeing a decline in health for almost
three months and she had lost three pounds.  I felt at the time she was
losing ground fast and the surgery was our best option.  Did I suspect hair
being a problem?  Yes, I was very concerned about a possible hairball
blocking her intestines.

Lucy was in the operating room, and I was sitting in the waiting room.  I
have to admit I was crying and wondering if she would come out of it alive. 
It had been an hour.  The door opened and in walks the assistant with a
dissection pan in his hand.  Sitting in the pan was the ugliest thing I had
ever seen:  a large hairball.  It was measured later and found to be 3 ½
inches across 2 inches wide and had a tail trailing 22 inches through her
intestines.  The shape was identical to her stomach.  The vet said he didn't
recognize it to be her stomach when he first opened her up because it was
stretched so big. Her stomach was almost cut in half to remove the ball of
hair.  Her incision was from ribcage to pelvis.  She came home a few hours
later, held together with wire stitches

What caused the hairball to collect?  We had given her chewing gum on
occasion.  Maybe that was not a wise thing to do.  The hairball was never
dissected so we don't know for sure.  You would think that she would be
disabled for a long time after that ordeal.  She moved slowly but by about
the third day she was almost normal.  We had forgotten how much energy she
once had.

She started eating hair as soon as she found a piece.  I really panicked. 
The vet gave me Felaxin, a hairball medication used for cats.  Lucy loved it
and I could watch her stools and see the hair passing.

Lucy died three years after the removal of the hairball.  There was no
necropsy done at the time of her death.  The signs she exhibited months
before her death, and at the time of her death have led us to believe she had
ulcers that hemorrhaged.  We do not know why the ulcers developed.  But we do
know that macaques are prone to ulcers.  The drastic surgery on her stomach
to remove the hairball might have been a cause.  I have been told by some
that Felaxin is not tolerated well by the stomach and could cause irritation.
 
I do not recommend Felaxin, I mention it only because it was given by my vet,
and might be suggested to you for the same problem in your monkey.



DO YOU HAVE A HAIR EATING MONKEY?

Unusual signs to watch for:
·   Diarrhea
·   No hair in stools  (when you know there should be)
·   Loss of appetite, or reduced intake
·   Lack of energy
·   Loss of ability to vomit.
Please take a close look at your monkey's habits. I would recommend talking
with your veterinarian if you suspect the eating of hair and fibers to be
obsessive.

Written by Karen D. Gill