Well I've had my glider for about 8 months now and haven't gotten him a friend. I know they shouldn't be alone and it can lead to really bad consequence, but I still haven't gotten a friend. I have been thinking about it now and I want all of your opinions and your help. What should I do? I really don't want to neuter him and I don't think I could get him another boy without them being neutered but if I get him a girl then, well, they'll make babies. To tell you the truth I would prefer not to get another glider and I don't really have the money for another one but I know it's really important. Please help me.

I'd suggest just getting him neutered, getting a boy who is already neutered or another boy and neuter him or a girl. Either way, there's going to be one neuter to take place. It's not like he's going to hate you if you get him neutered.

you need to get him a friend. it is much better down the road. he'd be 10x happier with a friend, and on top of it, you wouldn't need to worry about him self mutilating or harming himself because of loneliness. and if he did that, the vet bill would be much more expensive than getting another friend. ;)

you can always adopt, sometimes they are cheaper that way. also, a standard grey is only like $150.

You said you know they shouldn't be alone. You answered your own question. It isn't fair to make him stay alone KNOWING he shouldn't be. All the opinions here will be the same. I agree he should be neutered as well.

I'm going to be honest with you. Perhaps too honest.

In my completely honest, and perhaps harsh, opinion.. You need to do right by your glider. That means he needs to be neutered. That also means that you need to get him a friend. If you are unable to afford caring for a second glider (vet visits), then if I were you, I would rehome your glider into a home where he'd have glider companions. Hard as that would be to do, it'd be doing right by your glider.

Thank you for your replies. I know you guys are right. I'll get him another glider. What about the possibility of getting a girl and mating them? Is this a stupid question? I know it's complication but maybe I could learn.

If its hard financially (I totally understand), even if you did get a female and mate it is going to be cheaper just to get the male neutered than have joeys who are going to need vet care and than the possibilities of even more nueters because sons will mate with moms and sisters and dads will mate with daughters. Than you take on the possibility of joey rejection and even more vet visits because of that.

Rejected joeys would mean having to hand raise them for possibly the entire 8 weeks, if the joey makes it (and if not, then a heartbreak and sadness over the loss of the joey). Hand raising a joey would mean having to have them on you all the time. Feeding them constantly.

That's why I won't ever breed.. I couldn't handle all of the heartache and work that could come from having rejected joeys.

Before you even think about breeding you need to ask yourself what would you do with the joeys? Sell 'em? Sure, but to who? Many longtime breeders have difficulties finding homes for joeys, and there are already so many gliders in rescues waiting for loving homes. So, would you be okay with having all of your joeys as pets?

How would you prevent inbreeding?

Do you have lineage on your male? Would you get lineage on your female? So that you KNOW they won't be related? Getting them from two different places does not guarantee that they are not related.

Ok so what's my best option? I guess it would be to neuter him and get him a girl so I don't have to neuter her too. But what if I want to mate him one day and have little joeys? That's why I really don't want to neuter him. :(

Just so all of you know, I really care about what happens to him so if anyone has gotten the impression that I'm stubborn and don't care what you say, that's not true. I just want to make sure I find the perfect solution to this problem. And thank you all for the replies.

Do you have lineage on him?

Any good vet would not even consider spaying a female. My suggestion is to get him neutered and if you're still dead set on breeding in the future, get an intact male or breeding pair later on. Enjoy a pair for at least a year first. Be sure you have the means to care for rejected joeys, neuters and have a vet fund before getting into breeding.

With money being an issue now, as it sounds like it is for you... Neuter your male. Get him a friend. Enjoy them.

Hey I was actually a bit like you about 6 months ago! I was debating back and forth about getting another glider because I was so very afraid that I would loose my special bond with my one glider. I spent about three weeks talking in depth with these very kind people who finally convinced me to get my little girly a sister. While our bond has been a bit less because she will want to play with her sister at times instead of me, she is a much happier glider and seems to give me even more love! Even though I spent hours, literally, a day with her, I could not replace suggie companionship. It also allows me to be able to not worry if I go away for a few days and my parents can't let them out (they have each other to play with!).

But if finances are really tight-you have to ask yourself if you can handle their expensive lifestyle. Food and vet bills are not at all cheap unfortunately. But if you think you can make it happen, by all means go and get him a buddy! Let us know if we can help you find him a friend!

Actually, that's exactly how I feel, filly47. I have been convinced to get him a friend. Can anyone help me make this all easier for me? I'm somewhat confused and I don't know how to go about all this. Thank you all for your help.
Also, is there no way to go about this without neutering him? I'll do it if I have to but it doesn't hurt to ask if there's a way around it.

Only if you get another male, but it's harder to introduce them.

Yes it is harder to introduce two males. Alot of fighting if you by chance end up with two Alpha males and then you'll really have your hands full. Two cages with two gliders that hate each other.

Sincerely, the very best thing you can do is get him neutered and then get him a female friend.

Once you have gained more knowledge and experience then get your a breeding pair of gliders and enjoy joey's.

I personally could not handle the baby (joey) thing because of the chance of joey's getting killed by one or both parents. I just don't have the stomach for that stuff.

Is there no way to keep a glider alone? And I think I know the answer to that but I had to ask. Well then does anyone have any advice about how to get him neutered? Does anyone know a vet in Miami? What should I look for? What should I ask?

I thought my single glider was a happy and healthy glider, but in truth she was nowhere near that. Even though she loved me I had to put myself in her shoes. I couldn't snuggle with her during the day and wrap my arms about her telling her its okay if she woke up with a nightmare. I couldn't share my food (or have a foodfight!) with her. And most importantly for most of the night she had to play by herself. She made very little noise and spent most of the time awake in her wheel. Now she spends that time awake playing tag with her best friend. And the time alseep curled up with her suggie companion. While it is true that they can live on their own, it is really not a good life. Put yourself in your baby's shoes and make a choice on what is best for HIM and not you. I did that and now I have two very happy gliders. And you should hear the variety of chirps and clicks and songs they make to one another! Now that is a happy glider!

If you use Resources: Vets you'll see several vets listed in the Miami area. Questions to ask include whether they remove the pom or leave it (pom-on is less invasive and will heal faster) and whether they give pain meds.

Start checking Craigslist, Hoobly and other on-line ad services looking for one who needs re-homed. It may take some time, but you should be able to find a companion for little or nothing. Start saving your money in case you need to buy another cage for the quarantine period, and to have funds for the new glider's vet check etc. Here's one, $125 for everything (but the cage is incredibly small!) http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/pet/1633294837.html Here's one, two males with cage $225 http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/pet/1632445016.html On Hoobly: http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/1247313.html Anyway, they're out there if you start looking. A free glider would probably go fast, so be diligent.

Ok well it looks like I'm neutering him and then trying to get him a little girl to play with. Thank you snusie for suggesting the Resources section and I'm gonna call a nearby vet nearby later today. I have a friend who has a girl about the same age as my glider but he is asking too much so I'll see what happens there. I also know someone that breeds them and he is selling a girl for $100. I want to know the age of the glider that I get. If anyone can help me find a girl glider for me I would really appreciate it. She will be loved and have a little friend to play with.

There's a chance I might get a baby girl. Very young. How would I go about introducing her to my 1 year old glider?

Read this: http://www.sugarglider.com/gliderpedia/index.asp?Introductions

Some things to keep in mind: it's very important that the gliders be about the same size at intro time; so getting a very young one is really not your best option. Look around and try to find either a female or a neutered male who's about the same age or at least the same size and weight as the one you have now.

Save your money so you can buy a cage for the quarantine period, unless your new glider comes with her own cage. This means the whole setup: pouches, toys, a wheel. Have that ready by the time the new one comes to live with you.

Expect it to take some time, and be patient. After the quarantine, it took three weeks for my boys to decide they would accept each other; and from what I understand, that was pretty darn quick. It could take months; it could be that they'll never like each other, and you'll end up with two lone gliders. I think that's really rare in the case of two singles being brought together, though. Usually they're so glad for a companion that they'll be fine.

Thank you for making the right decision, and good luck!

Well the thing is that I know someone who is giving away a baby girl glider. She is currently 4 weeks oop. I will be getting her sometime in late april. She was oop 2/10/10, so she will be 8 weeks 4/10/10 and I'll get her sometime after that. It's my best option finacially. I need to neuter my male. How much should that be? And I can make another cage for the new girl for the quarantine period. There has to be a way to make it work like this. Any suggestions? Please I'm doing the best I can, I hope you all can see this.

Nuetering prices are dependent on vets. I have heard people talking aboutit ranging between $40.00 and $300.00 so it would be best to call vets in your area. You would have to wait a while before you could house them together they need to be close in size so the little one can defend herself. Also is there anyway you could talk your friend on holding the joey a little bit longer. I have read a lot of people suggest keeping a joey with mom for 10 to 12 weeks some even suggest longer.

If you decide to get this little girl you will need to keep them seperate until she is about the same size as your boy. It can work and you can help by just making sure you spend alot of time with them until she is big enough to introduce to him. It shouldn't take long. They grow up fairly quickly. I'd say she'll probably be big enough by end of summer or late fall. That will give you alot of time for quaratine, vet checks, neuter, toys, a vet fund, bonding with both gliders and so forth. I'm proud that you are making strives to do this for your boy. Just spend alot of time between the two gliders but do not put them together until she is big enough to defend herself if she needs to.

Honestly I worry about a male dominating a young female joey more so then the other way around. Also 8 weeks is REALLLLLY young. Try to keep looking on craigslist, on the classifieds here or on Hoobly. Give us your city/state so we can help your search. I found my other girl on here for $75, so you can get them for a good deal if they are older sometimes.

I read the gliderpedia section about introducing gliders so I know the steps I would follow, but what if I have a fairly long quarantine like you guys have said, and introduce occasionally where I can supervise them, even if they're not living in the same cage? Or should I just wait until I'm actually going to move them into the same cage?

Well, filly47, I can choose to wait until she's 10 weeks and have a long quarantine when I do finally get her.

You most definately can not do it when she's just a baby and he's not neutered. He will try and mate with her as well so she needs to be big enough to handle his persistant moves on her. You need to wait until she gets closer to his same size and then you can begin some slow together supervised playtime. If she to little he will hurt her even if on accident. Have you ever seen a mating wound or a males aggressive sexual moves on another glider. It's pretty scarry. Like I said you can make this work if you really want to get THIS girl but you have to be patient and take it slow and make sure she's big enough to defend herself.

Well I will be neutering the boy by the time I get her. I still have to wait until April and then there's a good amount of quarantine time. So by the time I introduce them he will be neutered. He won't want to mate when he's neutered will he?

Yep he doesn't care nuetered or not he will still try to mate.