C'mon FedEx! "The world on time", my butt! New cage was supposed to be delivered today & I called & found out it will be delivered no later than 7pm tonight. :/ But I want it NOW!

Brought Catwoman home from the vet & am told she is in good health. Even did a urinary exam as well as the usual well exam & fecal smear/float test. She tested negative! Yay! So, all we have to do now, is wait out the 30 day quarantine & retest.

Vet said to let her nails be trimmed when we come back in 30 days as she's been through a lot & we don't want to overwhelm her.

As much as Batman is difficult to get OUT of his pouch, she is about as difficult to get back IN her pouch! LOL! We were 3 fools trying to scoop her up for her exams & she wouldn't have any of that. She climbed up on all of our legs & backs & we even got to see a glider GLIDE for the 1st time! This was exciting! I hope some of her youthful exuberance rubs off on Batman. And I hope he calms her DOWN.

So far, I have not heard a peep from him despite how she has crabbed at me from her bonding pouch when my phone went off. We believe he is dead asleep. Then again, we had a very active night last night, so I can't say I blame him. If we didn't have plans to pick up Catwoman, I might be napping, too!

She didn't crab at me nearly as much as I thought she would, nor did she bite anyone. She did nip at the stethoscope some, but that was it. She's really pretty though a whole lot smaller than I imagined. She's about 3/4 of Batman's size. We'll see what a month's diet on HPW Complete will do.

Tonight--or rather, this early morning, about 30 min. ago--Batman got into a very playful mood. After not being on his Stealth Wheel in forever, he got it into his head that he should work out. Maybe he understood me when I said we were bringing Catwoman home later today? Who knows. Either way, he decided he was going to get in shape.

So, while he was playing, I managed to steal his pouch for a washing! Muahahaha! Trying to out-maneuver him in the past was a no-go. I simply do not, as a human, have better reflexes than a sugar glider. That & he's in a parrot cage until the new cage comes in (also scheduled for tomorrow) so the doors slide UP & really stinks. Or they unlatch from overlapping each other on top. Which is how I managed to finally take his pouch away.

EW...! For you veteran Suggie slaves out there, you know what a mess I found! Lots of meal worm husks, and a few blueberries he decided he was either saving for later, or he was using them for a pillow. I have no idea.

The progress? He usually dives for his pouch the moment I approach. Tonight, he ate his food while I was watching him, paying me no mind. Got on his wheel & likewise paid me no mind. When I opened the top of the cage, he didn't cower. He just keep playing. When I returned to see if he missed his pouch, he didn't really seem to bothered & left the one I made for him alone. He sat in it & swung in it for a bit, but other that that, no motions whatsoever that showed that he was afraid of me. At most, I think he had a healthy "keep away, don't get too close" sort of caution & so I respected his space. But this is leaps & bounds in progress! YAY!!

The best part of tonight is that we got to play a little with the feather teaser I got. He'd chase me all around his cage with that thing! LOL! I really wish I could take him out tonight but his pouch needs a washing & I don't think he'd appreciate me man handling him out of his cage for a little bathroom time. Not yet, anyway. All in due time. He hasn't even known me for a month yet. I can wait.

I should be in bed. We're supposed to wake up at 7 am to get ready to pick up Catwoman. Overall, it's not a bad drive: just an hour and a half away one way. And then a trip to the vet for her well check & fecal smear/float & hope everything turns out OK.

Then the quarantine begins & I have barking between the two all night long to look forward to. But hey, it beats Batman being all mopey & lethargic all night long, where I have to check on him & make sure he's eating & got enough toys to occupy him until the day his cage mate arrives.

I am really looking forward to the end of the quarantine, when everything checks out OK for them both & we can start the bedding swap, etc. And of course, when they become glued together like peanut butter & jelly. You have no idea how jealous I am of you with the photos of your bonded pairs, all cute & cuddly & happy looking. I want that for my Babies.

There's something about seeing other people's happiness that just increases your own happiness, I guess. :)

So I bit the bullet today & bought the cage we want for our Suggies. Had to put it--as well as so many other things--on my credit card because we are now BROKE. LOL!

Babies are expensive. Unexpected babies are even MORE expensive. I wish I had time to plan for all of this. I'm not a spontaneous person. I like order & planning, research, thorough discussions, etc.

All I have to say is, thank God for credit cards! I didn't want to wait on getting this because I know if I put it off, it could be put off indefinitely & if I think *I* hate using the parrot cage--getting in & out of it, feeling cramped as heck--I have no idea how Batman feels.

I know it's expensive but you can't put a price tag on those you love. I'm only going to do this once so I might as well do it RIGHT. Right? Right. :)

We got him neutered yesterday, & his fecal float/smear test came back negative. Yay! The doc placed his age somewhere between 1-2 years & said nothing about his weight so I suppose he is neither underfed nor overfed. She of course did mention the condition of his cracked fur but she said that as I was placing him on a good diet, that it will definitely improve with time.

His right eye has a milky spot on it & she said that was due to an ulcer that was never properly looked at & yes, she believes his vision in that eye may indeed be compromised. :(

We got his nails done, too. It only made sense since we were already there.

He spent most of the day with either one or the other in his bonding pouch. Then we tried tent time but he wasn't interested in coming out. I can't say I blame him considering the last time he came out, he got neutered! The poor guy is probably wondering what we're going to take next.

I made him a nice meal of blueberries & watermelon, with a salad of spring mix & cucumber with honey drizzle dressing. Despite the honey, he took no interest in eating the spring mix. (I'm trying to get him to eat something to up his Calcium but Baby won't have none of that!)
I then tried to coax him into having some orange but again, he snubbed it.

When it was very late into the evening (about 2am), we went to place him back in his cage & we got crabbed at! :) I definitely saw this as a good sign that he is bonding to us, that he would rather be with us, than without. Nevertheless, it was time for the little guy to stretch his paws & move around a bit.

This morning at 7am, he barked at us for the first time. It melted my heart into my socks. He knows we belong to him & will cater to his whims. Not only did he NOT make a mad dash for his pouch when I turned on the light, but allowed me to pet his belly through the cage bars. When I placed my whole hand to cover the area of the cage that would cup him, he didn't move for several heartbeats. He just stayed there, and slowly ambled back to his pouch. He shivers less now when he's looking at us. It's so nice to see that we're earning his trust!

Then again, we are careful not to disrespect him. If he wants his space, we give it. We wait to see what he's comfortable with. And we talk & sing to him A LOT.

Even though we spent all day with him (minus the hour he was in surgery, exams, etc.), I still wish we could have had MORE time with him. I am very much looking forward to the day where he'll come out of the pouch & sit on my shoulder, or snuggle in my bra, or play with us using the feather toy we got him.

I would love to hear more chirps & barks. I'd like a facehug one day. :)

Tomorrow marks a full week that Batman's been in our hearts & home. What a week! It's strange because looking back, he was what might be considered an unplanned adoption.

I'm not sure as to the exact moment I first heard about Batman. My boss told me her son got a Sugar Glider for a pet. I think it might have been a year ago, or it could have been 6 months. Time flies when you're over 21, work a steady schedule & don't have a 9-5 job. But I remember asking, "What's a Sugar Glider?" I've never heard of them before. So she told me the little that she new: they were cute, they were little & they ate bits of fruit. Being curious & hungry for knowledge, I looked them up on Google images to just get an idea. She was right. They were darned cute! And I remember thinking, "I want one." And then pushed the thought out of my mind. I'm not a pet-owning kind of girl. But God & the Universe must have heard me, because what I got was not any Sugar Glider. As you know, I got Batman.

Let me explain the "not a pet-owning kind of girl" comment. I love animals. I love them so much, I think it's kind of selfish to grab them out of their natural environment for my pleasure, to keep ME company. It would be one thing if animals could talk. Then I could ask, "Hey, you want a place to live, away from natural predators, pesticides, construction work & other modern man-made hazards that can kill you both quickly & painfully?" And if they said yes, that was what they absolutely wanted, well then, I would know they come to me out of a matter of choice & love. And if they wanted to leave me, they would have that option, too. I'm really big on freedom.

I'm also big on having my own freedom. Parents say it all the time, "Having a pet is a HUGE responsibility." At 37 years old, I've got plenty of responsibilities. Having more was not on my agenda. I've got bills to pay, family & friends to visit, & I like just being able to sit down & do whatever I want or nothing at all on the weekends. There is a wonderful joy about not having to do anything on your time off. But I'm just fooling myself. Freedom from responsibility may be one of the answers I shied away from having a pet, but it's certainly an answer of the mind & not the heart. My heart was broken many years ago.

I had a small dog when I was in my high school years that I loved dearly. He was the last pet I ever had. When he died, I couldn't go to work. I'd think of him, ball myself up and just cry. I never wanted to know that sort of pain again. Never. Never again.

Yet here I am, some 17-19 years later, part of me thinking I must have lost my mind...but all of me just overjoyed. I never knew what a hole I had in my heart until I adopted Batman. But God & the Universe knew that in order for me to heal that hole, the only way to tempt me, was to someone who needed me right in my path.

And Batman needed a forever home. He belonged to an acquaintance of mine who could no longer attend to him, if attend he ever did. He was in a too-small cage, on no particular diet, stalked by two cats, neglected by his owners, man-handled into baths, without a cage mate, & gone through 2 homes in a short amount of time. He's been traumatized. While I am not about taking animals out of their natural environment, he's already out of his natural environment so the best I can do is give him a loving home.

Not that I didn't fight the idea at first. At first, I thought he was a well-cared for pet. So, I fought for my constancy. Let him go to another. My husband has a bigger heart & he is less afraid to get his heart broken than I am. But as I love my husband, I wanted to make him happy & so we agreed to take Batman in. It wasn't until I saw him in his cage & witnessed his appearance, his poor diet that it dawned on me that this was fate. He was meant to come to us; we were meant to receive him.

In one week, he's had a bigger cage, been fed a better diet, given toys, talked to, sung to, petted in his cage, carried in the bonding pouch, has an appointment with the vet tomorrow, and a cage mate plans in the making.

He's still shy but then again, so am I. And it's only been a week. Friendships take time to cultivate. I have to earn his love & trust. I have to prove to him I'm not going anywhere. Except, perhaps, to the store. To get him more treats, more toys, more Glider Proofing of the apartment, or to work to make this all possible.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Batman's in our lives. We've all had rough & unhappy childhoods. When I saw that this Sugar Glider's life matched ours, I knew he belonged amongst us. This can only be Fate.

Tomorrow, we would have had Batman for a week. (I counted the day we got him as Day 1.)

After staying on the phone with Lady Tiko, who's been an absolute angel in helping me with what could possibly be wrong with him, & advising we put him on Pedialite as he may not be getting the hydration he needs, he seems to be doing much better. Also, after many posts with many wonderful contributors, it seems that we have been over-feeding him snacks & that is why he's not eating his dinner.

I laugh at the way I fuss over him but when we got him, he was such a scrawny little thing. He's putting on some weight now (not a surprise since we've been over-feeding him) but I am still a little concerned that he's not eating his BML. I'm going to post on the forums to see how long everyone thinks I should wait before switching him to HPW. I will go ahead & order it anyway because I have a feeling I will soon be adopting a female cage mate for him that is currently ON HPW, so it only makes sense. (I prayed to God last night that he would help me find a home for a--preferably female--glider. This morning, the first post found its way to my eyes. Coincidence? I think not. Thank you, God!)

For those of you who have suggested that I use foraging cups: THANK YOU! They worked like a champ & he even ate his veggies: peas, carrots & corn! I put only a small amount of fruit in his cups because we tend to hand feed him those as "treats". And baby is so spoiled it seems he prefers to be hand-fed over anything else, anyway. (Although he LOVES his foraging cups. Heard him go at it at 6:30 am this morning. :D)

By the way, is that NORMAL? For it seems to me he eats nothing all day except right before bed. For a human, I know that's an awful routine. He's gonna be a pudgy thing in no time!

I'm also concerned what to do about his lack of interest in the BML. Mixing it in his fruit & veggies, or having it "on top" only makes him NOT eat his fruit & veggies AS WELL AS the BML. I get the feeling he's saying, "I'd rather starve. It's that bad." So what food do I feed him to counterbalance all that phosphorous he's eating?!

Tuesday cannot come fast enough.

Last night, hubby & I went to a friend's wedding that we've committed to going to for months before our unexpected adoption of our suggie. As we were coming home about the time that he would be awake anyway, I didn't think anything would be amiss.

Checked up on his food, it looked like he didn't get up for his usual daytime snack. Then I gently put my hand on his bonding pouch/sleeping pouch and did NOT get crabbed at. My heart stopped. I did it again, lifting him higher but still not a peep. I yelled for my husband because if the worst happened, I could not bare to look.

After my husband ascertained he was not dead, we fed him some meal worms & he crunched him up right away. There's a definite change in his behavior, though.

He has stopped playing with the stealth wheel about two days ago & I thought he was just bored, so we got him brand new toys to climb on & play with. I could swear he tinkered with them as I heard the bell on one of his toys ring. But it was dark & I couldn't see for sure.

Night before last, we had our 1st day of bonding in the bonding pouch & everything seemed to be going well. But then he didn't eat anything unless it was hand-fed to him & his appetite has decreased. Is this because he's on the BML diet now--actually ON a diet now--and his body is trying to adjust? I don't know. And the not knowing worries me.

Last night--after the scare that we had lost him--I had his bonding pouch around my neck, him hanging against my heart & I just talked to him, & told him how much he meant to me. Told him that we're going to give him a good home & to hang on. I was on line, researching for a friend for him. He didn't make a sound. I had to peek in on him several times to make sure he was okay. He'd look at me as if to say, "Close the zipper, will you? I'm trying to sleep."

Despite the fact that I wanted him to crab less at me because he's finally used to me & wants me for a buddy, now I dread the silence. The only time I get crabbed at now, is if I put a hand in to his pouch try to either pet him or hold him. (But he's never let me hold him outside of his pouch so I can't imagine why he'd let me hold him inside of his pouch.)

Assuming it IS his body trying to adjust to all the new changes: the new cage, the new toys, the new food, the new caring people who are actually at home wanting to engage with him...shouldn't he be MORE lively, not less?

He got up this morning & pooped his brains out. 3 or 4 giant pellets. Then he went to go & eat. But his movements seem sluggish & he didn't eat nearly as much as he normally would.

We're taking him to the vet on Tuesday. Dear God, please let him last till Tuesday. We're going to keep a close eye on him tonight. If his situation doesn't at least remain the same: if his condition worsens, we're going to have no choice but to see about taking off work Monday & see if they have an appointment available.

   

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RChurch
Gender: Female
Occupation:Licensed Massage Therapist
Member since: Sep 21, 2011
Posts: 1377 View my pictures!
My Hobbies
I enjoy making toys for gliders. Lots and lots of toys. I also write poetry, cook, watch movies and read books. But of course, if I have any time at all, it's given to my precious suggies. :) Favorite Quote
"But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it the most?" ~Mark Twain

   

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