diseases that can affect adult and baby marmosets

Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) is a disease caused by dietary and husbandry mismanagement. MBD  is associated with a lack of unfiltered sunlight (sunlight coming  through a window is filtered) and inadequate vitamin D3 in the diet.  Vitamin D3, commonly referred to as the sunshine vitamin, plays an  important role in health. It is the only vitamin that can be made by the  body from sunshine.

Callatrichids, like humans need sunlight to make and metabolize vitamin D.
Signs  of the disease is pale face, reluctance to move, jump, climb,  depression, loss of hair, angular bend in tails, bowed legs, rickets,  tremors that will progress into seizures, paralysis and death. 

One of  the most important items to ensure the health of a marmoset is the  proper lighting, which is UVA/UVB they need both, the UVA helps them  absorb D3, the UVB helps them absorb calcium, mercury vapor lighting is  the best, because most reptile lights are UVA or UVB NOT both. 

Marms and  Tams needs BOTH You can feed the best diet but without the right light  to help metabolize that diet a marmoset or tamarin will NOT survive. The  BEST I have found are all in one "160 watt - UVA/UVB Mercury Vapor Bulb". This bulb lasts 3 times longer then other bulbs, and are carefully tuned to ensure  appetite, activity, calcium absorption and above all to prevent (MBD)  metabolic bone disease.

Position lamp about 5 to 8 inches above or to the side, tilted towards a basking area and they will lay under the light and groom for hours!!
If  your marmoset or tamarin already has MBD you can stabilize the disease  with supplements and the right lighting but it will never go completely  away. MBD is devastating on their little bodies, and they need extra  care for life. A female affected by MBD should NEVER be bred, the  chances of her having a viable pregnancy are very slim, the babies rob  her of ALL the calcium she desperately needs, leaving her with brittle,  weak bones that can easily break. The mom and babies will most likely  not survive.

Herpes:  Marmosets, tamarins and owl monkeys are extremely sensitive to the various forms of the herpes virus. As a result, these monkeys  should be kept isolated from other primate species, which often carry their own form of the virus. Squirrel monkeys should never be kept near or use any of the same food bowls, water bottles, feeding syringes, toys, blankets etc. The herpes test has proven to be inaccurate since the squirrel has to be shedding the virus at the time of the test, otherwise there can be a false negative result. Herpes is shed and spread through their feces and saliva. Cross contamination is a real issue between species. 

They are extremely susceptible to herpes  simplex, the common fever blister in humans, and it is FATAL to  marmosets, tamarins and owl monkeys they die a horrible slow and excruciatingly painful death,  and there is nothing that can be done for them. Symptoms of herpes are  frequently shown by sores around the mouth and in the mouth, diarrhea,  loss of appetite, depression, dehydration, nasal discharge and swollen  eyelids.  Herpes viruses  can survive  for four hours on plastic, three hours on cloth and two hours on the  skin. 

The Epstein-Barr virus can be  transmitted to marmosets, tamarins and owl monkeys resulting in them getting lymphoma (cancer) and dying.

Wasting Disease

Marmoset  monkeys are susceptible to wasting syndrome, a bodily invasion of the  pancreatic worm Trichospirura leptostoma, which is transmitted through  the household cockroach. For this reason, household sanitation is  extremely important and cockroaches should never be fed to marmoset  monkeys as a protein food source. Infection causes the marmoset's  pancreas to malfunction, leading to malnutrition, diarrhea and  dehydration. The most common symptoms of infection include chronic  diarrhea, weight loss, hair loss at the base of the tail and paralysis  of the hind legs and death.

Most  vaccines that humans get are live viruses and are extremely dangerous  to monkeys for several days. If you get vaccines do not handle, bottle  feed, or prepare food for your monkey for atleast 7 days.