New Sugar Glider

[kellpoky07r]

I just brought home a 7 month old male sugar glider today and he is a little scared of me. Whenever I try to pick him up he usually runs. What should I do? Also, his penis is showing. Does that mean he is reaching sexual maturity?

[Emylee]

I would try not to pick him up, but instead let him come to you. He will come to you when you earn his trust. Are you wearing him in a bonding pouch during the day? It would help if you gave us a little more info on what you are doing all ready.

His penis showing is normal, as long as it is not out for long periods of time. Does he only take it out to groom it? If so this is completely normal. My adult male glider does this constantly. I think he likes to show it off to me. lol But if you notice that it is out for long periods of time when he is not grooming, a vet visit may be in order. Let us know. And please do tell us what bonding techniques you are using so we can have a better idea of how to help you. Good luck.

[Emylee]

Also, I reccomend joining one of the bigger glider forums. There are several out there. Here is a really good one.

http://worldwidesugarglidernetwork.com/board/index.php

[kellpoky07r]

I have been letting him lick food off my finger and let him run around my room. I have not carried him in a bonding pouch because he get's really mad and crabs if I try to bring him out. He came from a girl who didn't provide him with any toys or pouches and I don't thing she added rep-cal to his diet either. But, now he has pouches and toys and seems to be doing pretty well.

[glidergrl1513]

First of all, that's great that you got him out of those bad conditions! What are you feeding him now? If you are trying to take him out of the sleeping pouch to put him in the bonding pouch, try just letting him sleep in the bonding pouch, that's what I did and it worked well.

[kellpoky07r]

I'm feeding BML. Today I just took the pouch that he was sleeping in out of the cage and then I put him in my shirt pocket. Do you think BML is a good diet? I have been feeding grapes and pieces of apple along with it. He really loves grapes. What vegetables and fruits do you recommend feeding along with the diet.

[Emylee]

BML is an excellent diet! Great choice!!! :heartbeat.

I feed my baby different fruits and veggies every night to prevent bordom. Here is a great list. Just make sure to feed the ones with a low cal to phos ratio with in reason.

http://www.petsugargliders.com/calciumphosphorus.html

Just keep him with you during the day for one or two hours. Even is he crabs. Just ignore it and carry on with what you would normally do. Don't get discouraged. We are here for you every step of the way. I think that it is so wonderful that you rescued him. Great job.

[kellpoky07r]

You all are a really big help. I also have another question. What should I do about biting? Whenever I wake him up he sometimes bites. Will he stop once he is bonded with me?

[Emylee]

Does he bite out of fear? You can tell by how he is acting when he bites. Is he crabbing the whole time and then lunges and bites? If so there isn't much that you can do aside from giving him his space. Bonding works best when you let your baby go at HIS pace. I have found that by letting your glider set the pace bonding may take a little longer but you will have a MUCH stronger bond then if you hadn't. When does he bite you? If he bites when you are doing something stop doing it. Don't back off but stop where you are and once he calms down continue. Some people will tell you to take the bite. I however do NOT reccomend doing this! If your glider is biting you that usually means that you are doing something that is making him uncomfortable. The best way to earn a gliders trust is by making them feel safe around you. If you happen to get bit don't pull away though. It might hurt your baby. BUT the best thing that you can do is to try and prevent your glider from wanting to bite you.

Did that make sense? lol It did in my head but reading over it I can see where it might be a little confusing. Let me know if you have anymore questions. You have some really great ones and it sounds like you are doing a great job.

[Emylee]

Oh, I forgot to add that a bonded glider will not bite his owner because he feels safe around him/her. Your glider will run to you when he is scared. It is so cute. I love gliders so much

[kellpoky07r]

Yes it made sense. He does bite out of fear. It is always when he is in my shirt pocket or his pouch and I try to touch him then he starts crabbing and lunging at my hand. He does perfectly when he is just running around his cage or when he runs around the house. I guess he just wants me to leave him alone and let him sleep.

[Emylee]

LOL, just keep doing what you are. I wouldn't try and pet him when he is in his pouch for a while, until he gets used to you. Did you check out that link to WSGN? That is THE place to be if you have a glider. The people there are just amazing, and there is no flaming. It is an AWESOME place to be. I hope to see you there.

[kellpoky07r]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah I checked out that sight, you're right it's awesome. Well I will keep doing what I'm doing and will let you know how we are progressing. Thanks alot.

[Emylee]

Yea, np. I hope to see you stick around. :) Maybe once you get this whole thing worked out you can work in getting him a friend. ;)

[kellpoky07r]

I have been thinking about getting him a friend. Do you know of any in MO?

[kellpoky07r]

Where can you buy wheat germ?

[glidergrl1513]

Wal-Mart should have it, last I knew, it was near the honey and stuff like that, but that might just be mine. Grocery stores should have it too.

[Emylee]

No but if I do then I will let you know. Do you have an extra cage?

[kellpoky07r]

I just have 1 cage.

[Emylee]

You will need to get an extra cage first. gliders can't just be thrown together and be expected to get along. Sometimes they do but more often they don't and you will have to allow them time to bond to eachother before putting them in the same cage. You can get wheat germ at almost any grocery store. Let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you.

[kellpoky07r]

Emylee, I have another question. Whenever he crawls on me he pees all over me. Is that normal?

[Emylee]

yup. he's marking you. To help with this you can just leave him in his cage 15 minutes before you take him out (while he is up playing) and he should go pee in his cage instead of on you. ;) But no guarantees!! LOL ;)

[kellpoky07r]

Emylee, I don't think that he is acting normal and he doesn't eat very much. The only thing that he does is eat a little bit and then go to the corner of his cage and stay there really still. I feed him the BML along with grapes, lettuce, pieces of orange and he always has dried mealworms available to him at all times. He will eat alot of the mealworms but the only thing that he will really eat out of the main dish is grapes. He barely touches the BML mix and he won't eat lettuce or boroccoli. And his penis is always showing. I think that he needs to go to the vet. He has toys and things in his cage but he will not play. I think maybe he needs a friend. Let me know what you think. Thank you

[glidergrl1513]

I would definately take him to the vet. How is his poop looking? Don't feed so much oranges, that may be making him sick. How old is he? If he's under 6 months oop, he shouldn't have oranges at all, if he's older than that, only some once a week.

[kellpoky07r]

He seems fine now, I think I just overreacted. I switched his diet to something he likes. Thanks for the reply.

[glidergrl1513]

That's good, just make sure you keep an eye on him, and take him to the vet if he starts acting weird again.