HOMEMADE PLAY DOUGH - This is a great enrichment idea. I just tried a homemade recipe for play dough that is working very well for my two capuchin monkeys, Mookie and Milo. I have not found it to become stuck in their hair and it does not make a difficult mess to clean up later. Milo doesn't handle it much but Mookie will play for quite a while with it on and off during the day. He will roll it, pound it and stick it a cup or whatever item he has he can use as a receptacle. It contains nothing harmful if ingested either. The recipe is as follows:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cream of tartar
(Kool-aid for color is optional - this also tends to make it more enticing to eat so I don't personally use it, it may also dye hair and skin temporarily.) Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms into a ball-like consistency. Knead well. Store in the refrigerator. This mixture should last a couple weeks when stored properly but mine never lasts that long so I can't verify how long the play dough will remain good to use.
FRUIT LEATHER: Cook, cool and puree any fruit in season (peaches, berries, plums, mangos, apple), spread on cookie sheets dry in moderate oven, cool completely, roll up and store in air tight bags.
Here's a homemade recipe for WIPES a friend gave me, developed for kids but is great for monkeys too! Save one or two round plastic wipe containers. Cut a roll of "good" paper towels in half with a long sharp bread or serrated edge knife. Pull out the cardboard in the middle (give cardboard to monkey to play with). Stir 2 cups warm water together with 2 tablespoons of baby bath (in yellow plastic jug) and 2 tablespoons of baby lotion (in pink plastic jug, Suave is the cheapest). Place the paper towels in the container and let soak. Pull wet towels from middle of roll (they will not pull out of the slotted top very well). TA-DA! Cheap monkey butt wipes (good for hands too) and they smell good too!
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