I've been seeing a lot of pics lately of suggies outside. I saw one photo of someone letting their suggie climb on a tree, playing in the grass, eating flowers, etc..... how safe is this REALLY? I would LOVE to give my suggies the excitement of being in their natural-ish environment as opposed to stuck inside all the time. I feel like they need to experience tree bark, grass, the taste of flowers!!! Can someone give me some direction on SAFE ways to do this?

If they are bonded to you it is suppose to be safe but honestly it would just take a little spook and a tree and they would be gone forever.

I'd be worried about the light outside. Isn't it a bit too bright for them? Maybe on a cloudy-ish day i might do it but i wouldn't want to harm their eyes. Maybe if you have an open bottomed tent you could do that. I wouldn't really trust mine in the open like that and I've had them for over a year now, completely bonded.

I would never, never, never do it. I have several extremely bonded gliders that I take places with me and who I allow to be about in the school etc, but outside is just way too scary. I always think about the "America's Funniest Video" that was NOT funny when the little kid had his pet mouse outside on his cage and the bird swooped down and grabbed it and flew off! Not taking that chance.

yeah i just wouldnt do it, its not worth the risk. instead of bringing them to the outdoors bring the outdoors to them. or you could have tent time outside. one of my boys got into our 14 foot x-mas tree one year and it was so scary because i couldnt get him out. he was safely in the house so i cant imagine what i would do if it had been outside.

I am scared to death to even TRY and let Aristotle play outside. I don't even bring him outside unless he is in his pouch or tucked away in my shirt during the day. (That whole sunlight can cause retinal cancer thing kinda keeps my urges to bring him outside during daylight hours at bay.)
It's not even that I am worried my little guy will take off because I am not. Even when he joins me outside in the evenings and I take him out to hold him, he does everything he can to get back in my shirt to hide. I count myself lucky that he doesn't try going escape artist on me.... but I am still too afraid to tempt my good fortune there. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he ever got hurt because I wanted to see if he would be like one of the gliders in those pics and videos I've seen. All I can picture is the video mentioned in another thread with a little girl taking her pet mouse out of his cage to play outside... oh so cute, until a hawk swoops down and carries it away!!!
Personally I have birds here that fly down from their trees and attack CATS that try passing by beneath them... I don't think they would hesitate to pick up a tasty glider. <shudder>

Hubby & I were talking about building a "glide path" thing for the gliders (in the future). In it we would plant trees/bushes, & flowering plants we know are safe. We'd have red lights (where the gliders can't get to them) & it would be covered with a mesh-like material strong enough to protect but "see through" too. Tall so I can stand (6ft) & prob 4-5 feet wide & 8-10 feet long. This is something I would sit in WITH my very bonded gliders at night or early morning only (dark, hence the red lights). This is the ONLY way I'd let my gliders outside.

If you don't feel comfortable taking them outside, then don't. Simple as that.

I have taken mine out a few times. They love the fresh air. I am confident in my bond with mine. I have a 6ft. privacy fence around my back yard so I don't have to worry about other animals sneaking up on me. I sit in the middle of the yard so there's no blind spots. I live in a new subdivision where they ripped every tree out so I don't have to worry about them scurrying up a tree and me not being able to get them out. I planted an Elm tree last year that is now 5 ft. tall....I have no problem letting my babies play and climb on it. Now granted when it gets big enough that I can no longer reach them then it's gonna be a different story.


Mala


Ariana


Jasper, Zoey, Mala, Ariana...and NO, Kodah is not with us, him I do not trust.


Ari eating a dandilion


Jazzy sitting in his Elm tree.

well hawks don't even have to sneak haha, when i had free-ranged chickens the hawks would come and pick them off. It got so bad we lost so many chickens that we had to build a fenced in enclosure with netting over the top. Even that doesnt stop them...just something to think about lol.

I can't edit but I wanted to add-it would have a mesh stuff cieling/roof too.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by prettyinpink5808</i>
<br />well hawks don't even have to sneak haha, when i had free-ranged chickens the hawks would come and pick them off. It got so bad we lost so many chickens that we had to build a fenced in enclosure with netting over the top. Even that doesnt stop them...just something to think about lol.
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Oh believe me, I know! But as I mentioned, we have no trees so the hawks don't tend to fly around here, but I do scan the sky and they are never more than a foot away. And the thing a lot of people don't understand is when those of us that take our babies outside, it's for a very minimal amount of time. They get some fresh air, we snap a few cute pics and that's it.

But as I said, if you are in an area that isn't safe or there are places they could get to and hide very quickly and you'd have a hard time getting to them, then I wouldn't risk it.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by CountrynCrafty</i>
<br />I can't edit but I wanted to add-it would have a mesh stuff cieling/roof too.
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People build PVC cages all the time, I think building a large enclosure outdoors for you and them to enjoy some outside time would be a great idea.

I might have to run that idea by the hubby!