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BilliejsgirlWhen I was younger, I used to dream about getting older, getting married, and having a boatload of kids. Then I went to Japan for a year to teach English to children....changed my mind about having kids REAL fast haha.
I had heard of sugar gliders quite a few years ago, and fell in love with them at first sight, but I knew they were expensive and required large amounts of care that I just didn't feel I could afford.
Fast forward to six months ago. I had just moved to my new home in Virginia. By myself. As you can imagine, it can be pretty lonely. No family or friends, just some coworkers that you have vaguely just met.
After doing some research and thinking for a while I decided, I have the apartment, I have the finances, let's give it a try. I googled some local breeders, but they were either too far away or too expensive. I had read some horror stories about gliders in pet stores, and thought maybe I would go that route instead and save some gliders from that kind of situation.
I ended up driving 5 hours to a little pet store in North Carolina. Never called first to see if they had them, just drove down and let happen what would happen.
Lucky for me, the shop just happened to have two gliders available. The sweet and quiet year old male, and the little rascal from hell who was only about six months old. According to the shop lender, she wasn't sure if the two got along very well, so I made the decision to take the safe one and went on my way. About five minutes later, I got a call from the shop caretaker and she claimed that the two DID get along, so I turned around and picked up the little one and started the long trek home.
Things were crazy at first. The little one was EXTREMELY aggressive, the the point where he was always lunging at me and trying to bite, or just raised up on his hind legs crabbing. I was patient however, and after two weeks, he calmed down and now is a loving glider that will gladly lick you to death. His name is Xiao (shi-a-o), which is the Chinese word for little :)
The older glider is very skittish, but he is so very loving. Even if you mistakenly have food on your hands, he won't bite you too hard. The only time he bites is old he does not want to be handled. He and Xiao didn't get along so well at first, I think partly because of Xiao's aggression, but in time he has become like an older brother to Xiao. He even lets him ride around on his back! That's why I decided to name him Oppa (Oh-pa). It is a Korean word that females use to refer to older men, but can also mean something like older brother :)
I fell in love within the first week, and now I couldn't imagine my home without my babies. Since I'm alone, I try to stay busy so I'm not sad or scared, so I may not get to take them out as often as I would like, but I interact with them to some extent everyday, even if it's just putting my hand in the cage to say hello.
I'm so glad they have become a part of my family, and I hope they will stay with me for many years to come.
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