Photo by ; 
Lewis Medland, F.Z.S. 
GREY LEMUR. 
UNCOMMON PETS. 
A series of articles on the Care and Keep of Animals in Captivity. 
By P. WELLINGTON F'ARMBOROUGH, F.Z.S., F.H.S., etc. 
XVI. THE LEMURS. 
A CONSIDERABLE amount of attention has been directed by the Natural-History- 
loving public to these animals by the exhibition of one at the Crystal Palace 
Show lately, when it was described as a Madagascar Cat. As a result of this a more 
keen interest has been taken in this group or, more correctly, sub-order of animals by 
the pet-keeping section, in respect to their suitability for captivity. 
Lemurs are more uncommon as pets than their higher-placed relations the true 
monkeys, but have several advantages over the latter—they are comparatively slow- 
moving animals, they are not destructive, neither do they get treacherous in their old 
age. Against this, however, there is the disadvantage that lemurs require more attention 
than the commoner varieties of monkeys, as they are not so hardy and require a 
temperature of not less than 65° F., and preferably 75° to 80° F. They are extremely 
impatient of the slightest variation of temperature, and the greatest care must be 
exercised to keep them away from all draughts. Lemurs, speaking generally, suffer 
from very few maladies, the principal ones being inflammation of the lungs, congestion 
of the liver and, occasionally, skin disease. Every case of the two former diseases 
due to the self-evident cause of getting a chill, either by a variation of temperature 
or by being placed temporarily in a draught, results, according to the writer’s experience, 
in a fatal termination; whilst those lemurs which unfortunately have been afflicted 
with skin diseases are better destroyed, as it often happens that the disfigurement is 
permanent unless taken in hand and proper veterinary advice sought at the very 
outset in order that the disease may be checked and got rid of before it has obtained 
a firm hold of the system. Apart from the disadvantages pointed out, lemurs are no 
more trouble to keep than the common monkeys—less, in fact. 
The cage for a lemur must be very carefully put together of well-tongued and 
grooved matchboarding, free from knots and any other flaws in the wood. The cage 
should be of the box pattern,—that is, one that is open only in front—and may 
be constructed either with or without doors. In the latter case the entire front 
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