In Reply to: help posted by cody on December 27, 1999 at 23:42:50:

: I have had cody for about a mnth now. When I first got him
: he had a bald spot on his head which I heard is normal. The
: pet shop told me that his hair would eventually grow back,
: but is hasnt.

If the bald spot is in the middle of the black diamond shaped area of the top of the head it is normal and the hair doesn't grow back. Actually it only appears bald. There is a scent gland there that when the scent is released from this scent gland it causes the hair to thin and part to where it just looks bald. So long as he is not neutered it should always appear to be bald. With neutering the scent gland ceases to be active and therefore the scent gland stops producing the scent and the hair appears to grow back.

Another thing I noticed is that it is beginnig
: to scab over and he sometimes rubes his head on my hand as
: though it itches. Is there something wrong or is this normal.

This too is normal. He is marking you by rubbing the scent gland area on you. If they do not wipe away the musk it will become crusty and can even pull out some fur if you try to remove the crusted area without softening and moistening the area with something like mineral oil first.

: Also he used to eat every night and a wide veriety of fruits and
: vegtables. Now he doesnt eat at all at night and will only eat
: yogert and pecans, and he dosnt even eat a lot of that when
: offered. This has been going on for about a wk. Could he be
: depressed,or just stressed from all the holiday traveling?

It could be some of both. Gliders do not handle stress very well at all and this can take the form of depression and they can stop eating and drinking thereby becoming dehydrated or hypoglycemic. Yogurt is a dairy product and there has been a high instance of gliders that have been fed dairy products developing cataracts and nuts are high in fat content. Give him lots of TLC and love and attention, socialization to help him with any possible depression and offer him a wide variety to eat. Most glider illnesses are dietary related and you must insure a good nutritional balance.

Follow Ups:

• aughhhh!! Bourbon 09:33:35 12/28/99 (0)