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Subject: Re: Update on mysterious glider death....If you own a glider READ THIS!
Posted by Tara on July 24, 1998 at 19:45:24:

In Reply to: Update on mysterious glider death....If you own a glider READ THIS! posted by David on July 24, 1998 at 15:30:46:

David,

I am glad that you wrote back to tell us what you feel killed your babies. Heat and humidity does make some sense, but it is hard to think that
it would happen so fast. Dehydration and overheating are things we all need to look for especially right now. I would hope that you would still have
the necroscopy done just to make 100% sure. Please tell us about your new babies! Tara

: Well my initial suspicions of Death due to heat were correct. I did not have a necropsy done, however after speaking to numerous breeders and owners of sugar gliders I came to know that the only thing that could have killed a glider so fast and without any warning would either be poisoning or HEAT. I examined every aspect of the cage, food, and surrounding environment only to come to the conclusion that there was nothing that could have poisoned them. The only other option was heat and heat was definetely present during the last days of my two babies' lives. Heat and high humidity, the worst combination. The temperatures in the room where the gliders were staying ranged from 80 to high 80s with high humidity. The female was the first to die. The first sign of trouble that I failed to notice was that one morning I found her active, up and running around her cage at a time she would usually be sleeping. At that time the male was sleeping alone while the female was running around. At feeding time I noticed them both licking their fruit thoroughly before they started to eat it. This could have been a sign of dehydration even though a water bottle was provided for them and they knew how and were able to drink from it any time. The morning after the female's active day I found her on the floor of the cage on her belly. I picked her up to look for any obvious wounds or broken bones. There were no outer signs of injury as the female draped over my palm, eyes half opened and weak. She died in my hands on the way to the vet. Her death was very unexpected and came as a shock. At that point I started looking for reasons as to why she died and concluded that she might have died from fruit that wasn't washed well enough. The male was acting normal and healthy and I became a bit less concerned with him. About three days after the females death I found the male active in the morning and throughout the day. He ate a very large portion of fruit the night before which could have suggested dehydration again. I found him dead on the floor of the cage at 11:30 pm that same day. After that I did a lot more research on glider husbandry and talked to numerous breeders only to see the signs I missed and how simply this could have been prevented. I feel pretty stupid now after reading two books on sugar gliders and about a million caresheets I missed a little thing like that. I think my problem was that I worried so much about things like bonding the right way and feeding the right food with calcium I didn't put enough importance on the temperature. To everyone that owns a glider I suggest you pay attentiont to every minor detail and don't let temps get over 80. I know that some people keep their gliders at those temps with no problems but play it safe with your delicate children. I hope my loss helps someone prevent their own loss. I am purchasing another pair of gliders from the same breeder tomorrow. He was very nice about everything and is giving me a discount on my next pair. If anyone is looking for a good breeder in New York email me and I will give you his email address. I would like to thank everybody who helped me with this situation and hope that nobody else makes the same mistake.

: -David

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