This is the story of My Rescued Glider Jack and His ladies....Luna and Milk Dud.

Well I rescued Jack on 02/22/09 and it's 05/07/09. It's been about 2 1/2 months and I see alot of progress with Jack and the Girls. Even though the bonding with me is going rather slow, they have certainly bonded with each other. Jack looks so good I can hardly believe he's the same glider. He eats well and has been a good influence on the girls. I have named their colony the "Crabby Madhouse of Misfits". It just seems that they are made up of three misfit, randomly rescued over two months gliders that I managed to introduce to each other with success but they still crab at me....

I have come to be the person that will show these pictures on thread's when people need convincing that Gliders need to be together and not alone by themselves. My poor Jack is to me the perfect example why no one should have only one. If I can convince just one person to purchase two with my posts then I feel that I have in some way contributed to this forum that gave me so much and taught me how to be a glider mommy.

Even though Jack is not completely healed from his 2 year ordeal of loneliness he is well on his way. I have some pictures I have taken and I hope you enjoy them.

This is Jack the day that I rescued him:







This is Jack today:











Here is Luna: She's comming out of her shell slowly. She was all over me during tent time and played on my back with Milk Dud.





And here is Milk Dud: She is still quite timid with tent time but is comming along nicely.






Links to my journal entries about Jack, His rescue, and his update.

http://www.sugarglider.com/journal/Goldwinger/Here_We_Go_Again_336.asp

http://www.sugarglider.com/journal/Goldwinger/Update_on_My_Rescue_Jack_and_his_LadiesMilk_Dud_and_Luna_371.asp

I hope you enjoyed my babies pictures. Anyone reading this post in the future and you are trying to decide whether to get one or two gliders, Please Please get two. It could very well save their life. God Bless and good health to all our babies.

Wow! He looks so good!

I can hardly believe that's the same little guy, Anita, he looks so healthy! Luna, Milk Dud and Jack have done wonders for each other ... and you made it possible. I'm proud of you girl.

Amazing transformation!!

It's amazing what a little (or a lot) of love, hard work and dedication can do. Congratulations, he looks so healthy!

Awwwww, he looks SO much better now!!!! Congrats!

Thank you guys. Jack is going to the Vet for the first time since his neuter so I can't wait for the Vet to see him. He's getting a nail trim today and a just peek at to see how he's doing. I 'm really excited for the Vet to see how well he's doing. I know I can hardly tell he's the same glider too. When his bald spot clears up and fills in I doubt I'll be able to tell him from Luna at First glance. Milk Dud's easy as she's missing the tip if her ear.

That's wonderful that they are all doing so well. Congratulations!

The first pictures just break my heart! But he is doing SO much better! Great job! It is good to see that they all are getting along so well too. Let us know what the vet says.

HE LOOKS AMAZING!!!! I haven't seen any recent pictures of him WOW what a change!! He's so lucky to have you! His head is almost completely full of fur now and it really looks like he's lost some weight!! GOOD JOB!!!!

I am always glad to see you post pictures of Jack when people start talking about how they can only afford one and blah blah blah....Jack is the poster child of why they NEED to have a buddy!!!!!!!! Thank goodness he's found you and is getting better! Please let us know what the vet says about him, I'm sure he will be shocked too!!!

Good job

I want to commend you for your constant work of letting people know what the deal really is. I was reading another post of someone who has "no intention of getting another glider" and I was quite disturbed

Goddessbaby....and everyone, Thank you. Please link them to this thread as that is why I created it. I keep reading about I'm getting One or Do I need two and BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. My hopes were that the glider members of this forum would use my rescue Jack's thread as a link to post when you read posts like that. When I rescued Jack my Vets words of wisdom were those that we keep repeating to others, "When a glider is alone and bored and has no friend to be a part of a colony no matter how small, they become depressed and then over-groom, sleep more than they should and then can begin to self mutilate".

Please Bookmark and pass this on to others in the hopes that we can change one mind at a time and bring peace and happiness to their new glider.

I'll update later on the Vet visit.

Thank you for sharing all this with everyone. I have already bookmarked it and plan to use it. This is a VERY important thread....It's sad that this even needs to exist but it really really does....

Yay! It looks like a happy ending!

he looks soo good!!!its soo sad to know someone out there would let there glider get that bad

im glad you stepped in and took him in, he looks great!!!

Update? How did the vet visit go???

Yeah - Inquiring minds want to know!

that's outstanding... he looks totally different! i think it's funny, for a long time i wondered how any gliders could actually look different from one another, and thought they'd probably all just look identical in the pictures. not only do your three suggies look unique, but jack has changed entirely!
it's neat to see the differences, but also impressive to see what a loving atmosphere and good company can do!

Jack's Vet visit went very well. The Vet was teasing with me saying that I really brought in a different glider because that certainly wasn't Jack. She is just beside herself with the change in him. He's lost about 50 grams and is now down to 150 grams.

He bit two of the people trying to cut his nails and of course came out of there pretty stressed from the ordeal. I ordered 4 nail trimmer tracks today for 4 of the 5 wheels that I own. I'm ordering parts I'm missing for the 5th one as well. Maybe Jack can keep his own nails trimmed now once I get those nail trim tracks. I have one but Luna is a wheel HOG....lol.

Thank you all for your good words and We'll see how Jack looks in another few months. I'm in hopes that he'll be the best looking male glider out there....JK, JK.

YEA! That must have made you feel sooooooo good!

I am bumping this thread because I think it's very important and so many people need to see it!!

I know my Wavern was a very happy girl with me, and I loved her to pieces, but she is just so much happier with her new friend. I agree that they need a buddy, and they are both much happier then before. Also the new girl is much more trusting of me because Wavern is so trusting of me! I got one glider to bond with and then six months later got another one. I made sure I had my girl out on me for literally hours a day (2-7 hours a day), because I was so worried she would become lonely or depressed. Luckily for me she did not!

Seeing those pictures of Jack made me cry - again (I had seen them before)

I agree that having only one glider is nothing more than cruel. Thank you so much for that post. This needs to be said often!

this os totally off topic but....when my gliders got there nails trimmed, the vet said they HAD to be put to sleep in order to do it...which i thought was wierd b/c my boys are as tame and friendly as can be...and the person i got the suggies from said her vet couldnt believe how nice they were when she trimmed her nails??? so why would my vet put them to sleep to cut their nails....she said its just procdure....but i didnt want it done, plus it cost me like an extra 70 bucks!!!! so whatsthe deall????

My Vet charges me 14 dollars and does not put them to sleep. I think that Vets that are scared to cut a gliders nails do it so as not to get bit or hurt. I don't know that for sure but it makes sense to me. My Vet use to rescue gliders and has three of her own now so she's not scared of their bites.

I have HiJacked the testimonial below from another thread. It speaks of just what is trying to be said here. I would like for all glider owners that have a story to tell about their lone glider and what happened to him/her, good or bad, if you got another and how it changed your gliders life. Please post pictures or whatever. Let's have one great big thread about the Importance of having more than one. I am changing the title of this thread to reflect my challenge to all glider owners out there. Please tell us YOUR GLIDERS story.

quote:

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aschin Starting Member 1 Posts
Today : 12:33:43 PM

I think everybody on this forum and other glider related sites NEED to stress the importance of having AT LEAST TWO gliders together. PERIOD. My little guy just passed this afternoon. He was only three months old. We did everything by the book except provide him with company during the night when he was most active. It didn't matter that we held him all day (my wife and I work from home) and played with him in the early morning. Big mistake by us and I take total responsibility for his death. I'm very sad. I just hope that potential new owners can learn from our mistake and purchase playmates for their young gliders. It is NOT OPTIONAL. It is ESSENTIAL. The breeder that we purchased from didn't stress this at all and just wanted to sell us a glider. I'm going back to her this weekend to give her an earful.

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The condition he was in was terrible... :( He looked much better in the pictures, though! How is he now?

yes how is he now??

Let me tell you about Puff Daddy~
I was lucky enough to have this little love connect with me in July or August of 2007. I saw him on Craigslist for $40 measly dollars but could just tell somehow through the ad that he needed a new home ASAP. I cannot describe well enough the filth, stench and just plain nastiness he was living in. He had NEVER seen another glider before. He had a tiny, broken bird cage being held together with twisty ties. He walked, ate and slept in his own waste. He had an oven mitt for a "pouch". It had holes chewed clean through it. He was so overweight, he could not climb the bars or jump or play. I was told he was "3+ years old" and that they had "NO idea" how his tail got half amputated. He lived alone in a dark, unfinished, smelly basement and not only had he never had interaction with another glider, he had NEVER been played with-even once. There was not ONE toy in his cage. You can read the thread if you want because the same details are posted but he had a slimy water bowl that was almost empty (slimy as in, green slime all around). He was fed eucalyptus pellets as his main diet. All these people cared about was that I had the $40-never asked me one single question. I grabbed him and practically ran.

The day I brought him home (and I had no idea about the importance of quarantine at this point myself so got extremely lucky considering his prior home):

http://www.sugarglider.com/glidergossip/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=8999

Keep in mind this pic is AFTER I had cleaned everything. He just LOOKS depressed!





I fell in love with him right away. He was the sweetest, most gentle roly poly. I immediately took him to the vet, switched his diet, got him toys, a new cage, pouches, water bottle, wheel, you name it.. He had no idea what to do with any of it. I was so happy to have him. The intros to my 2 girls at the time was flawless. He and Skitzi were in love from day 1. She immediately took to him and wouldn't eat, sleep, play or even venture outside of the cage without him. She would sit right on top of him if he were still long enough. If he'd try to leave the pouch before her, she'd start chattering at him and either join him or he'd stop what he was doing and go back. Here she is even sleeping with her arm around him:




He was almost instantly a new glider with a new personality. He started to play, eat healthier and never wanted to be alone. Now, I could SEE the difference in him now that he was with the girls. I can't explain the bond that he and Skitzi had as I've never seen anything like it since. He NEEDED to be around other gliders.




Puff Daddy is no longer with us. He passed on Christmas Eve, 2007. I really don't want to go into all the details so here is the post from that day:

http://www.sugarglider.com/glidergossip/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=10916&whichpage=1

In a nutshell, I did wind up having a necropsy done and the bottom line is that his previous years of bad diet killed him. It was irreversible by the time I got him yet I had no way of knowing.