In Reply to: I just got a glider and i NEED advice!! posted by Jennie on September 06, 1999 at 22:58:59:

: How in the heck do i tame this thing? It seemd to hate me...It bited me and maked that horribe noise and wont let me come anywhere near it!! Advice plz?

Trying not to be rude here but just exactly how much research did you do on sugar gliders before getting one??? If you had done the proper research beforehand you would realize that your glider is acting that way because he is scared out of his mind! First off, how old is he/she? Ideally for a first time glider owner you would have bought a hand tamed baby (6-8 weeks out of pouch). That way they are somewhat used to handling and only "crab" (horrible noise you mentioned) when first woken up or startled. Biting is also less common amongst baby gliders and their jaws aren't strong enough to break the skin then anyway. They are also at an ideal age for bonding. If you have an older glider, your work is cut out for you. I would recommend reading anything and everything you can on these precious little animals. As far as the one you have, if you just got him, give it a few days to settle into it's new home. Hopefully it wasn't ripped away from another glider it had bonded to. Start by offering it some fruit baby food, honey or a mealworm on your finger while it's still in its cage at night. Don't ever "grab" your glider, they don't like to be restrained. Let him/her come to you first. After a while of doing this the glider should start getting used to you and your smell. Then if he/she will climb on you let him/her. You can also try using a special bonding pouch which has adequate ventilation to carry your sleeping glider around with you near your body. NEVER USE A SOCK!!!!! A few years ago I had given my first glider a sock to sleep in and he ended up getting horribly entangled in it and if I hadn't checked in on him, he would have died! It also took a great amount of time to free him not to mention the stress it put on him and me. Learn from others mistakes, don't make the same one I did. Work with your glider for at least 2 hours every night. It may take a while but eventually they usually always come around and accept you. Also make sure you feed him/her an adequate diet! There are numerous postings of great diets on the net. Hopefully you already have done some research on these animals and everything will work out. If not, I feel for you and most of all the glider. Just another example of people not being informed. T

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