Wow! Something really neat is happening with my young male glider, Buddie. He's starting to come to me when I call his name. I think I am on to something here and just want to share it with all of you. Recently I purchased some small crickets, the smallest you can possibly get. Usually I would give Pookie and Buddie one or two crickets at any given night, but with these super small crickets I can give each glider up to five. So one night I am in my room and let my glider have their time out of the cage to roam and explore. Buddie, being his adventuresome self goes and check out every nook and cranny in hopes of finding any food. Occaisionally he would check back with me. So here is where I get the idea of thinking that it would be the coolest thing if I can get him to come to me on cue. So I had my crickets ready. The first time he came back and check on me I gave him a cricket and kept repeating rapidly his name in a high voice. Next time I started repeating his name when he started making his journey to me, and gave a cricket to him immediately when he got to me. The third time I just started repeating his name when he was exploring. He did not respond right away, but I kept on repeating, "Buddie, buddie, buddie..." until he responded and came to me. Again immediately, I gave him another cricket. By the time I got to the fourth and fifth cricket, he started to come instantly. I think if I do this on a routine schedule it will definitely reinforce the behavior. Cool hey! If your sugar glider is tame and bonded, give this a try. Just remember that if you are going to use crickets as treats, try to buy the really small crickets. This way you can repeat the process of training at least a few times.

Thought I'd share the experience with all of you. Hope you enjoyed reading and if you have any specific questions about it, feel free to ask.

Austin, TX glider,
Xay

Follow Ups:

• That is so awesome! I actually have small crickets at home so I'm gonna start tonight. Rachel2 11:48:27 3/27/99 (0)