I've had my boys (they are brothers) since late October. They are about 7 months old now and have been so sweet and fun since I got them. They are both very bonded to me as the breeder I got them from allowed me to come over to visit them and get them accustomed to my scent before it was time to take them home. I have had no problems so far (THANK GOD) except for the past 2 nights my one more outgoing glider Chong has been barking at night, all night, nonstop?? I interact with them every day as I have a studio apartment and there are really no rooms or walls to seperate us. I take them in the tent for tent time a minimum of 3 times a week. They are both very healthy looking and have been eating great (HPW plus glider fruit smoothies and veggies and occasional mealies. Their cage is full of toys so I can't see how they could be bored??

Normally I have no problem with their barking, I think its cute and they usually only go at it a few times at night until I get up and go to their cage to see what they want (and then it stops). But this allll night long bit seems quite excessive, and my fiancee is getting quite disgruntled as he works from 6am-10pm and really values his sleep. I know that they are nocturnal animals and Im aware that noise is expected and btw There is NO WAY I would be rehoming them so that is def not an option nor ever was, but I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions on how to get them to bark less. Worse case scenario I buy earplugs haha any suggestions or ideas are much appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Cristy

they dont want toys they just want you. thats why they stop barking when you go to their cage. what time do they usually start the barking? maybe try spending more time with them. and does your boyfriend wake up from them barking or does he have problems falling asleep cause they are barking? if he is able to get into a deep sleep and not wake up with them barking take the boys out to play until he falls asleep.

They usually wake up around 9:30-10:00, which is when I give them their food. I usually wait until around 11:00 to take them out for tent time (which I did last night and have them in there for over 2 hours). I then put them back in their cage and went to sleep around 1:00-1:30 am. Both nights it seems that they started the "incessant" barking at around 3:00 am and it does not stop until around 5-6am. Im a psychology major and I remember when studying positive and negative reinforcement they used a crying baby as an example. If the baby knows that all is has to do for attention is start crying and you will run to their side their "crying" behavior is reinforced that. Obviously animals and exotic animals at that are very different from babies but I just wanted to make sure that by running to their cage everytime they begin barking I am not reinforcing the behavior.(Usually when they bark I do go over to their cage as it seems that its the only way to stop it anyway). I love my babies and would love to spend every moment with them but we all know that life is not that easy.

My fiance was in the marines and has slept in much worse conditions. As a result he sleeps like a rock, often allowing the alarm to ring in his ear for several minutes before acknowledging it, so if he is being awakend by their barking then you understand how loud and constant it is.

I obviously love both suggies and fiancee very much and since we are going to be getting married I'd rather not have conflicts between us, so that is the main reason I am asking for help and or ideas so that we can all live happily ever after

I'm not sure with sugar gliders but with my dog it got to the point when she'd whine and bark for me at night I had to ignore her. She did stop after a couple of days. My gliders bark but not all night.

maybe try putting a cover over their cage. and gliders are very smart so they probably know you come when they bark. try ignoring it for a while. you and your boyfriend will have some rough nights but it might work and you will have many nights of no barking. and they might grow out of barking they are still young. i just adopted my boys last dec. they are over a year old and i wish they would make more noise since i love the sound.

Thats funny that you mentioned putting a cover haha I actually have one of those custom cage covers that have curtains that you can velcro so they stay open or undo them so they completely close. In an act of desperation I closed the curtains but to no avail.

Thats what I was thinking, that if I ignore them eventually they will get the point...hopefully tonight will be better. Its hard to ignore though especially when it becomes incessant bc being a paranoid mommy I always want to make sure nothing is wrong and at the rate they are barking it sure seems like they want something

well if you want to make sure every thing is ok but dont want to give in and go to the cage set up a web cam so that you can see them from your computer. i really think its just their age and they will grow out of barking so much.

Thanks, I appreciate the help

I'm also a psychology major cristyoo2 and I would think you're definitely reinforcing the behavior lol.. even though gliders are little tiny animals they are wicked smart! I wear earplugs at night because I have my gliders in my bedroom and it really does help. Since your boyfriend is a marine does he have any earplugs left over from shooting?? My boyfriend is a marine also and since he shoots outside of the marines he gave me some earplugs and it definitely helps : )

Thanks ikurtin!! Thankfully it has gotten a little better. I haven't gotten up to go check on them and I think that has made all the difference. Ear plugs are definitly my last resort, I may just pick some up just in case