# Pet Monkeys

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 21, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372 "2003-06-21T05:15:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372/1 "2003-06-21T05:15:39Z")

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I saw a lady the other day with a pet monkey; diaper and all.

My question is… in Virginia, where can you purchase a pet monkey? How much do they cost? Are there any special permissions or licenses that must be acquired?

Do pet monkeys tend to run away? Hers was not on any type of leash.

Just curious…

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**Author:** ![Headcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@Headcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headcoat)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372/2 "2003-06-21T06:22:02Z")

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Don’t know about the legal issues, but I did have two friends with monkeys and they seem to make terrible pets. After the novelty wears off, all youre left with is a cranky, unaffectionate and difficult to maintain animal.

Of course, my experience is limited but this sentiment seems to be shared by many others who have dealt with them.

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**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372/3 "2003-06-21T08:10:44Z")

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I too don’t know much about the legalities other than they’re one of the more difficult pets to aquire, and it’s probably best to find something else.

They are supposed to be **very** curious due to their intellegence and that combined with their energy and dexterity/agility tends to make them very destructive… they’ll get into everything, including things other pets can’t (they are afterall essentially tiny humans when it comes to opening stuff). You’d most likely have to keep them in a cage, and I imagine they would run if they got the chance just like a dog or cat would… but just try and imagine catching a friggin’ _monkey_ tearing through the treetops of your neighborhood!

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372/4 "2003-06-21T13:06:03Z")

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I can’t answer the OP, but I will give this anecdote: Many years ago, my family went to visit one of my father’s friends. He happened to own a lot of exotic pets, one of which was a monkey. The monkey, in his cage, did something, and I started laughing at him. The monkey then went nuts! He wanted my ass! Maybe he saw my laughing as a sign of agression (open mouth, teeth showing, etc), and was responding in kind. Don’t know. . .

But after that, and to this day, I decided that that’s not a pet that I would care to have.

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**Author:** ![iaboy12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ccd318/32.png) [@iaboy12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iaboy12)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-monkeys/183372/5 "2003-06-21T14:08:46Z")

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Here check this website out:

[http://hometown.aol.com/chochstetl/CMH/MonkeyHaven.html](http://hometown.aol.com/chochstetl/CMH/MonkeyHaven.html)?