Hi all! I am a new member to the forum and am looking for advice/suggestions/support, etc. Tomorrow I am getting five female gliders from a family that can no longer take care of them properly. Here's what I know:
They are all sisters, ranging in age from 1-3 years of age, they have a GREAT cage (nice and big and really easy for me to get in and out of), they will come with a hammock and a wheel (but not much else), and whatever is left of their food (but they didn't know what kind of food they are feeding them). My questions are pretty general and any help would be great:

1. I would like to switch them to the HPW plus diet with fruits and veggies. I have heard great things about this diet. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I know diet is subjective and everyone has their own "what works for them". Considering I don't know what they are currently eating, I'm not sure what to buy them in the future.

2. I will get them home and settled in but should I leave them for a bit? I have little fleece blankets cut that I will sleep with tonight and put in their pouches so they get used to my scent. Is there anything else I should do to bond with them?

3. Besides the hammock and wheel, what else should I put in their cage?

Ok, I think that's it for now. Five girls are going to be interesting but I think I'm ready!

Welcome to Glider Gossip!:)
Sound's like you are well on your way to being a good suggie mommy!:D
Congrats on the new addition.:)

1.If you go up too "Gliderpedia" and click "Diet", you will find aprroved diets.
2.If you feel they feel scared, then, leave them alone. If they feel like they want attention, then, give them attention. It really just depends on the gliders, all gliders are different.
3.What kind of wheel do you have? You will need pouchs, and, TOYS!!:D They love there toys!

Again welcome.:)

I'm not sure what kind of wheel it is but it looks like it might be plastic (it doesn't like one of those hamster type metal ones you see at pet stores).

Big Kudos to you for taking on 5 new girls all at once.

Many people feed HPW and have thriving gliders.

I also have 5 and I find the easiest way to keep me bonding with them is...I put on a tshirt, tuck it in, then put on a baggy sweatshirt over it...basically making myself a large bonding pouch. They climb in and settle wherever they want.

I think you'll want to read them and see if they are ready for some immediate bonding time or if they seem to want to "settle" in. If they seem to like being held and enjoy being in your company, I say tuck 'em in your shirt and start that bonding!

As far as the cage...a ball pit is always good. Foraging toys are a good thing. Some fleece items...such as a fringe vine or rope, some corner hammocks. A few hidey holes are a good thing....

Got these balls at Walmart in the seasonal toy section. I hide mealies in them.




Got these at PetSmart...

Great idea for the ball pit! I will have to do that tomorrow. I was wondering how I was going to bond with all five of them! The sweatshirt idea is fantastic! Thanks so much for the inspiration. I've been peeking at people's cages to get ideas too.

Well, they are here and beautiful! I just gave them dinner. They were feeding them kitten food (I started a new thread about this and got lots of great advice). I just gave them their dinner: NO KITTEN FOOD, 2 scrambled eggs, fruits and veggies. A few of them ate, the others are being crazy and playing in their wheel (3 of them in one wheel is really amusing!). They had a large wodent wheel and from what I've read, these are pretty good. I made them a new hammock to replace the one they had that was in desperate need of a washing. I added a ball pit (which they promptly knocked over). They have a fleece rope and a few larger size rope and wood parrot type perch/toy thingy. A few of them crabbed at me when I opened the cage door so I think I may leave them be for a little while. I am having a BLAST watching them jump around their cage and being crazy!

lol wow you got your hands full for the first time out the door! I started with 2 and then a couple of weeks later I got 3 more. I love them all! I got really lucky and got very sweet gliders. They are so much fun! My first 2 are pretty laid back but the 2nd pair are all over the place! Its wild! have fun!

Wow! 5 gliders at once and being new to gliders? I had my hands full with one. xD

Good luck and welcome!

Hee hee...last night was fun. They were CRAZY when they woke up! They wanted nothing to do with leaving their cage though. I think I sat next to them for 3 hours just cracking up!