Has anyone ever heard of or seen a hairless glider? my husband and i finally seen of of our new babies and it only has fur on its head the rest of it is hairless.

Since it is 3 or 4 months oop like you said, it really needs to go to the vet. Im thinking this is diet related.... Its certainly not normal.

:( awww that poor little baby. I would definitely get him/her to the vet.

a vet definitely needs to be consulted. This could be diet related or it could be some sort of parasite or fungus. If the later, such a thing might be contagious. A vet will be able to examine up close to determine what's wrong and hopefully offer a solution to a full recovery.

keep us informed on what the vet says, his little face hairs have a yellow tint, poor baby probably very cold keep him wrapped in lots of fleece

It could also be a breeding defect?

I need more of the story. That thing is not fresh out of pouch so you certainly cant be seeing it for the first time.

Did the hair fall out or has it always been naked? It looks like someone scrubbed it with hair removal creme.

Im sure we'd all like to hear about the adult diet as well. Mom may very well have passed a malnutrition to the joey through milk feeding.

The way the skin is folded makes it look just the same as the genetic defect in other hairless animals including cats.

it could be a recessive gene in both gliders that was able to come out in the joey like there are bald cats too, or a particular hormone in joeys that releases chemicals for the fur in the body produced is laking those are jus some ideas i have im a first yr student at college in vet tech so let me knwo cas this is quiet interesting

also ill ask one of my professors if shes heard of this she has her own practice as a vet

I would like to know more about this glider also. Obviously this is not a just oop glider. Also this is not just a case of malnutrition. I would say that this is starvation and I would reccomend that you get this glider into an emergency vet or this little on is not going to make it. He isn't just hairless, there isn't any meat on those tiny bones. And it appears from his stance that there are problems with the hind legs. Either this glider isn't being fed and only you would know that, or he is too sick to eat, or possably other gliders in the cage are not allowing him to eat. But whatever is going on, he needs to see a vet NOW.

Poor baby. And what is that yellow stuff on its facial fur?

that does not look healthy at all

Spaz, I sent you a pm. I'm not sure how much you know about how this board works so if you scroll up to the top of the page, you will see where it says private messages.

Anita, I was told in the chat room that this glider is 3 or 4 months OOP and they just saw her for the first time today....

This baby looks very sickly to me, too.

They didnt just get her from a breeder. They have her parents....

From the looks to me, I think some dehydration is going on. A vet visit is in order.

One of my babies started over grooming and has a spot of fur missing, but other than that seemed fine, and I took him to the vet. At the vet, they had to sedate him to do the exam on him, and when he came back out of the sedation, his face looked like that for a few hours. He seemed really tired and not feeling well, and all that stuff, but it only lasted for a few hours thank goodness. I kept a very close eye on him the rest of the day and even put him in one of those little tiki hut things on the bottom of the cage so if he wanted to get out he could without hurting himself. I was soooo scared and freaked out when I saw the pics of this little suggie. Please, please take it to the vet ASAP even if they tell you it is healthy and just funny looking, at least you know then. But it looks very sick and unhealthy to me as well. Sorry for what you are goin through, and even more sorry for your little baby, but find out and let us know please. I would really like to know what they say it is.

Oh I just saw the picture and my heart sank. This joey looks very very ill. I have seen some gliders with hair loss but not to that extreme. The yellow colored marks on the face looks simular to bite marks simular to ones I have seen on rejected joeys. I would sepperate him from the parents and seek vet care ASAP for several reasons. I would begin monitering food intake, weight, activity level, and if needed hand feeding every 2 hours. I would make sure to put in extra blankets in his pouch also. What diet do you feed? How long have you had the parents? Did you just find this joey? Is he the only joey?
I am so concerned, please let us know what the vet says and recommends for this little one.

I wonder if the poor thing made it since they haven't responded to any post, I hope they took it to a vet , the pictures are so disturbing I don't want to see them again

I sent this thread to my vet and she responded with interest rather quickly. I hope she doesnt mind me pasting it below for your reading, but she gives a nice compliment to our community.

paste-----

Interesting, indeed. I have to say it does strongly resemble a nutritional problem based on the pictures - the sugar glider looks sorely emaciated, dehydrated, and depressed. Without actually seeing it in person, however, it's hard to be certain.

Other possibilities include a birth defect or metabolic issue that is causing it, over-grooming by the mother, parasites, infection, etc. Considering how the skin doesn't have any scratches visible in the pictures, I'd be most willing to bet on malnutrition or metabolic problem.

Also, there is the remote possibility this is a recessive gene that causes hairless sugar gliders (just what we don't need people selling!). If so, that usually traces back to a genetic or congenital metabolic issue causing the hairlessness and is often an unhealthy trait. (Hairless rats, guinea pigs, cats, etc all have major health issues associated with the hairlessness.)

I would definitely say it needs to go to a vet ASAP.

~Jenny

PS Reading through, it looks like your members caught the major differentials. It's nice to know some internet advice-givers actually know what they're talking about. =)

Is it just the angle of the pic or is he missing a little piece of his right ear too? Poor baby...I am so curious to see what the vet says!

I really would like to hear back on this glider. Kazco, its nice to hear that Jenny the vet had such good things to say about the people here. :)

Wow, this glider looks horrible. Poor baby. Looking at the pics is so upsetting. Please update us when u can spazz07.

Kazko - thank your vet for the wonderful compliement she gave us.

thought I would check in to see if there was any news about this little guy.

It's killin' me. Especially since I know the owner is practically a neighbor. I could just drive over to Cambridge, Indiana, knock on his door, and ask how things are with this poor baby. But that would be rude, huh? J/K

Oh, that poor baby. Please let us know what the vet said and how the little one is doing!!

Oh geez...that poor little baby. I must agree with others and STRONGLY suggest a vet visit. That is not healthy AT ALL. Something is most assuredly wrong with that sugar glider. Please, take him to a vet. Please.

are we sure he has the parents? maybe there is more to the story?

They told me in the chat room that they have the parents.

if they have the parents, how can they JUST BE SEEING this baby for the first time? i'm lost! maybe they bought the baby and mom and dad, that's why they just saw the baby.....meaning they just saw the parents too..I hope the baby is okay!