Ella was prengant and i heard alot of hissing in there tent..I went to see what was going on and I noticed mom was eating someothing. When she looked out her and another glider were eating the new baby she had just had in the last hour. Im not sure if there was something wrong with the baby or what. Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated.

Mom's know when something is wrong and that is their natural instinct in the wild so they don't attract predators. There's no real way to know what went wrong, but I'm really sorry. She's just doing what's comes natural to them when they reject joeys. :(

edited for misspelling

Awwww, that's so sad! I don't have any advice, but I'm sorry for your loss!

:(

New (young) mothers will often eat their first born if not even by accident. They dont know any better. Plus diet and environment come into play. Im sure the next round will be ok with some effort on your part.

As awful as this sounds, please dont be upset with mommy and daddy glider. They instinctively knew something was not right. Maybe there was something wrong with the baby. Maybe Mom's milk wasnt coming in and she knew she couldnt feed it. Like Kyro said, you will never know what really happened.

Remember these are "exotic" animals which means they still have their wild instincts. They did what comes naturally to them when in the wild.

Im sorry you experienced this.

The environement is very calm and they are given much attention. She has had a set of twins and then a single joey also. Im guessing she sensed somethin was wrong and did what she thought she should. Is it common for other gliders to eat the newborn also. When I looked there were two gliders eating it.

yes, I think it just goes back to the instinct of the wild so they don't attract predators. They "dispose" of the remains the only way they know how, unfortunately.

Should I have tried to stop them or allow them to do what they would in nature. I just left them alone, kinda was hoping she was just cleaning it, even though I know what my eyes saw! I went back a minute or two later to check their nest and it was completley gone. I feel like I failed as a rescuer to these creatures, do you think there was anything in power i could of done to of kept this from happening?

There was nothing you could have done. Please don't beat yourself up; you haven't failed as a rescuer. Mama and Daddy glider did what they had to, for reasons only they know. Focus on making a great home for the colony and consider getting Daddy neutered soon.

It can happen for many reasons. They will destroy their joeys if their nutrition is inadequate so they know that they can no provide the proper nutrition to their joey(s). It can be that they sense some defect. It can be from stress or depression, and it can be that they are overbred and too "tired" to care for additional joeys. I'm sure there are other reasons as well.

It may be many reasons. Like I said I only had them for a short while so it still may of been to new of an environment for them.

I would suggest neutering. It really isnt advisable to breed animals that you have "rescued". They have had a hard enough life as it is and deserve to be someone's loving pet.

I just graduated with a B.S. in Biology (specializing in zoology/animal behavior), and I can let you know that marsupials as well as rodents are notorious (perhaps not the best phrase to use sorry!) for this behavior. A kangaroo will even throw a joey out of her pouch if she is being chased. As sad as it is, the mother is not being 'selfish' in saving herself, but rather by saving herself she is able to produce more young. Rodents will eat their young if nutrients are not available. This is instinct as they "know" (although it is genetic not really thought driven) that the babies would starve to death. Consuming the body not only serves to detere predators, but also gives the parents back valuable resources (fat and calcium) that they will need to rear another baby.

I am so very sorry for your loss, and I do not mean to sound insensitive with the straighforward biology. I'm merely letting you know that there is a lot of evolutionary reason as to why they do not only kill, but eat, their young. My friend also had her two gliders (who were also rescues) do the same with two separate litters, and it could be that they just aren't meant to be parents like hers, and perhaps nuetering is the best option.

Sorry to hear this. Something must have been wrong with the baby and the mommy knew.

when I was at this situation, I hated n frightened my mom glider.
Many people told me, it was not anyone's fault.
Don't blame on yourself , just keep your love on mom glider.
Sorry to hear this.

Please don't hold it against them as many have said they were just doing what comes natural to them. Sorry you had to go through this, dealing with rejected joey's is the risk one always takes with breeding gliders. Hope all goes well next time, if you plan to try again. RIP little one.