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Posted by: Linda
Subject: About new glider, need help
When: 9:52 AM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 152.163.194.182
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Hi,
Im wondering, all of you that take your gliders ALL day to work or school with you in a pouch, do they want to come out? How about where do they go to the bathroom? What if they get hungry or thirsty? I realize that they sleep all day but what if they wake up? #2 All of you that own other pets, what do you do when you bring your glider home and your dogs and cat in my case wont leave the glider alone. I know my pets will die trying to make instant friends! Is this going to scare my glider? I dont want her to be more scared than she already will be. Any help?
Im getting my baby girl, yet to be named, in 2 days! CANT WAIT! raspberry



Follow Ups:

Posted by: Barb, barbloo@yahoo.comS
Subject: none
When: 10:54 AM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 63.178.113.125

I often take a glider with me all day. They just hang on to my bra or the inside of my shirt. They do just fine. Mine only get cranky (who wouldn't??) on days when I constantly wake them up to show them off. Gliders will "go potty" where ever they are. It's not a big deal, you just toss your clothes in the washer. Keep your glider separate from the other animals until he gets used to you. I know of many households with numerous other animals, they will do OK if you follow my rules: 1) NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave your glider out to roam freely except when you are THERE. (Mine will sometimes escape on their own, and then I must wait until they come out of hiding to find them. Also, you do need to make sure that the lid to your toilet seat is down.) It's best to get in the habit of keeping the lid down anyways because I had a glider get out of the cage one day when I was out, and I came home to find it drowned. 2) Once your glider has bonded to you, you shouldn't have problems introducing it to your cat or dog. I know of many families who have. Because the brave sugar glider fears no one and will not run and because he will loudly grump at another animal it will often "scare" cats, dogs. I've known many glider owners whose cat might "play" with a glider until it gets tired. When the cat has had it, he'll "run away." One Gizmo I knew loved jumping on the Persian cat, grabbing on and "riding" him.



Posted by: Barb, barbloo@yahoo.comS
Subject: PS
When: 11:00 AM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 63.178.113.125

Check out some of the other info here. You'll get some good advice. I recommend Caroline MacPherson's book SUGAR GLIDERS; it's published by Barron's and is available for less than $10 from any major bookstore. It is a must for a glider owner. It will be a REFERENCE book to check the accuracy of information gained elsewhere. (My word of caution is that even some USDA breeders do not give out correct info.)



Posted by: none, Torcsena@uswest.net
Subject: none
When: 11:57 AM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 63.225.93.68

My glider is on me all day, and rarely does he try to get out. If he does all he does is pop his head out to see what is going on, then goes back in and goes back to sleep. My pouch has a zipper on it as well so i can zip him in. No chance of him falling out when i bend over or any thing. congrats, and good luck. Please, what ever you do, secure your cage so your glider cant get out. You dont want your cat killing your glider. And it will do just that.



Posted by: KarenE, KarenElfrank@aol.com
Subject: Barb
When: 12:17 PM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 205.188.193.176

I'm afraid I have to disagree about the introduction to other household pets. But, then, that's what this board is all about ... right? Different opinions ... different views.
Attempting to introduce other household pets to your brand new "baby" sugar glider can be a tragedy waiting to happen, in my opinion. This is something that should only be tried by a "veteran" glider owner with several years of glider experience under their belt.
In the wild different species do not co-habitate, and I feel this should be the same in captivity.
"Newbies" have so much to learn about their new glider. First and foremost in their mind should be the safety and well being of the glider.
As we all know, gliders are prone to stress. In some cases extreme stress can even lead to death.
Joeys are already stressed from being separated from the parents and thrown, so to speak, into a new environment with new humans, new smells, new surroundings, etc. etc. Why add additional stress by trying to get them to interact with another species.
Give them time to adjust and keep them as stress free as possible.



Posted by: Jill, skibuny1@aol.com
Subject: none
When: 12:20 PM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 209.218.161.65

When I bring my gliders with me during the day I put them in a pouch that also has a zipper on them. They sleep all day and when I bring them I also bring a baggie of goodies for them. Like grapes since they have a lot of juice in case they are thirsty and I will bring some other treats for them. They go potty wherever! That is just a glider for you, they are so cute!!!! wink wink wink wink



Posted by: haic, purplecrayonhr@aol.com
Subject: introducing pets...
When: 2:57 PM, 22 Nov 2000
IP: 152.163.207.201

I introduced my kitty and gliders as soon as the gliders came home. In my thinking, it was best for the gliders to get used to kitty as they get to know everything else, then the stress is over all at once. Also, my kitty has been an only child for a long time and she needed to be introduced to them in a safe way (I had fears of her making her own introductions later) in which she wouldn't feel threatened by the new additions to our family. I was concerned that if she wasn't given an opportunity to meet them and accept them from the start, then it might not be easy later on.

When I introduced them I held the gliders in a stinky clothe that they felt safe in. I sat on the couch with my kitty beside me and pulled back the clothe just a little to let the gliders look around, but still be wrapped safe. Jireh (my kitty) was very curious. She needed to smell them. After a while she reached out her paw to try to play with them and I blew in her face so she knew that was not ok. She went back to just watching them, and eventually nuzzled the clothe kindly. The gliders didn't really seem all that concerned with her, but my BIG relief was that they weren't scared of her.

Now I let kitty spend time with them _while I'm holding them_. She watches over them and it's so cute. When I put Gideon (the male glider) in his ball to navigate around the floor and get some exercise, she follows him around and if he gets stuck anywhere she helps him out. Once, Simcha (the female glider) got adventous and got out of her cage and I found Jireh sitting two feet from where Simcha was exploring in the closet, just watching over her.

I now know that my kitty would never maliciously hurt my gliders. I would never leave them alone (intentionally) because she still doesn't understand that they are too little and fragile to play with.

She's turned out to be a good "big sister". I've been giving her plenty of treats for good behavior with them, and I've been giving her lots of extra attention so she won't get jealous. I mat sound neurotic about my animals, but I love them very much and it was important to me that they get along.

(Sorry this was so long.)



Posted by: Barb, barbloo@yahoo.comS
Subject: Karen E
When: 11:35 PM, 23 Nov 2000
IP: 63.178.66.235

Karen, it appears you must have misunderstood something I said. I'm not sure what...but I have very successfully raised sugar gliders for five years, and no one I have talked to has come back to me with anything but raves about it. As I'll always say, one should be careful of any advice received. What I related was what some one related to me. People who have gliders that have been hand raised do bond to their owners almost overnight. (In each case that I personally know of this is true. These people generally have paid more for their handraised animals - knowing they could get them for less. They have found it worthwhile because when they want another animal - again knowing they can get one for much less - go back to the original breeder.) Believe it or not, I met a kid in a drugstore last week that said he could get a glider for $15. I said - good luck; you get what you pay for. The animals I have referred to were all handraised, very bonded to people in general - handled every day numerous times since fist OOP. I do hope this clarifies anything I may have said that was misunderstood. I am sorry if I offended you. I love gliders with every ounce of my being and would never say or do anything I thought would cause one harm.



Posted by: margaret, syrinx@vicnet.net.au
Subject: sugar gliders in Australia
When: 4:03 AM, 25 Nov 2000
IP: 202.137.81.25

In Australia we may not keep Sugar gliders as pets. I used to do wild life rescue and had a few babies(always to be released). They live in a group and cannot be released alone as others will kill them, On releasemust have a group. They particullarly love moths. raspberry smile raspberry raspberry wink