Experimental studies of food selective behavior in squirrel monkeys fed on riboflavin deficient diet.

A squirrel monkey, if it needs a particular dietary component because of a metabolic disorder or because that food has been excluded from its diet, will develop a specific hunger for the food. In cases where specific hungers show up clearly, four behaviors can be demonstrated: (1) The monkey prefers the food it needs to other foods that are also available; (2) It usually ingests large amounts of the food to meet its particular physiological requirements; (3) The animal will tend to eat the needed food even while the stomach is full; (4) When vitamin B2 is removed from its diet, a squirrel monkey will exhibit digestive disturbance, general weakness, a lack of vigor, and loss of weight.