My sugar glider, Papalotte, managed to twist his skin into a knot with a shoelace sometime last night. I had no clue until I noticed he was having trouble getting out of his shoe (newest favorite pouch) and went to help him out. What I saw put me in tears. The shoe lace was completely twisted into his fur and skin that I couldn't even tell which was which.



My boyfriend couldn't figure out whether the last bit was part of Papalotte or the shoe and ended up cutting it to get the rest of the shoe off of him. It turns out it was part of Papalotte but he never made a sound and seemed much happier to have it off him. The other part was completely dead. And I'm afraid a part of the dead skin may be part of his genitalia. This worries me a lot.

This is what was caught in the shoe lace.



And here's what he looks like afterwards.




I'm a little afraid he may have some how neutered himself. But he is peeing and pooping.



He's eating normally but drinking a lot. He seems a little uncomfortable but that would seem normal since what he just went through. I would take him to the vet but there isn't a 24 hour vet here that specializes in exotic pets. Until I am able to get him to a vet is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable? Is there any medicine or such that would be safe for him (Like neosporen is safe for cats and dogs)?

I'm so worried for him. He's my sugar glider! I don't want him to be in pain!

Just a little back ground. He has multiple pouches to choose from, his favorite has been a clean sock he pulled into the cage when I first got him. About a month ago he jumped into one of my shoes while my boyfriend was cleaning his cage. He wouldn't come out and crabbed at my boyfriend, so he put the whole shoe in his cage. I still have no clue how Papalotte managed to twist himself the way he did but the shoe is no longer in the cage.

Please post your approximate location so we can help you find a vet to treat your glider.

It looks like some of the shoelace is still wrapped around and he at least needs pain medication and antibiotics after cutting off what likely was part of his testicle sack.

On a side note, please do NOT let your glider around your cat EVER again like that. Cat saliva is toxic and can quickly cause tissue necrosis and death of your glider...one member recently spent thousands to save her glider after an accident. Even the most docile animal can easily accidentally hurt a glider.

I agree 100% with Petluv. No cat. I have to say when I first saw the picture and started reading, I thought this was some kind of joke. He really should be taken to a vet to be sure that if he did get neutered, he doesn't get an infection.
And a shoe is not an appropriate sleeping place for him. Good you removed it. If he has no choice, he'll eventually climb into a pouch and sleep. Is he in a sock?

I agree. This little guy really needs to go to the vet. It looks like some of the lace is still on him which is probably why he didn't bleed after you cut him but if left there it could cause an infection or something. If he wasn't neutered before it looks like he is now. Please get him to a vet to get him all fixed up asap!

Since others have taken care of the cat issue- GET RID OF THE SHOE
Its not glider safe (obviously) and you're lucky your glider isn't dead.

Get a glider safe pouch- fleece, boxed seams.

Good luck.

I live in Atlanta, GA. And I'm looking for a vet that looks at sugar gliders. I know there has to be one because my brother's friend used to work at a vet with sugar gliders.

Right now he is sleeping in a beanie. I've bought him a few pouches for him but he always seems to sleep in either the sock or the hat. But yes, no more shoes ever for him. I originally didn't think it would hurt him and he seemed to love sleeping in it so much (it'd never been used either).

And I had no idea that cat saliva could hurt a sugar glider so much. I've only read that sugar gliders don't smell like food to cats because they're not rodents. But I don't allow the cats in the room when he is playing outside of his cage.

You can go to the top of the page and on the yellow bar there is a Resources tab, click on that and exotic vets with glider knowledge will pop up.

Thank you! I thought I was taking great care of my glider but now I feel like a horrible glider mommy for him.

No, no, no. You aren't terrible at all. You just didn't know. Now you do.

You know what else doesn't smell like rodents?
Birds, red laser dots, my toes under the blanket- and every cat I've ever had or known has hunted those without mercy. Predators hunt movement, not scent for the most part.
The "rodent scent" argument is so illogical it makes me want to pull my hair out.

You aren't a bad glider parent, you're just lacking information. I'm glad you're here, and I only wish you the best.

Your gliders have a great home, you know why I know that? Because you're willing to learn and you care. That a sign of an awesome exotics owner and a lot of people can't handle that, but you can. You're going to do awesome.

Update on my sugar glider:

I found a 24 hour vet to see him. He castrated himself. But seems fine. We were given pain medicine and antibiotics for him. They told us to keep an eye on him and take him to a vet asap if he begins self mutilating or an infection forms.

Thank you for all the information!

Thank you angelmom, I just hope I can make him as happy and comfortable as possible.

Looks like he neutered himself xD might as well go get him a female friend since he clearly cannot breed! I hope he recovers I'm sure it was painful for him :( If you take the socks + hats out and leave the safe fleece pouches in the cage he will learn to use those instead.

I think he will recover fully from this. He likes his medicine and he's pretty active compared to what just happened. I'll get him some fleece pouches and make sure everything in the cage is sugar glider friendly. I'm pretty sure it is but I don't want him to get hurt again :(

And as soon as I have the money for one I'll get him a playmate. We play with him all the time and speak to him when he speaks to us but I want to make sure he's as happy as he can be.

So sad...

I'm glad everything worked out okay! I wish you all the best

Socks are dangerous to gliders, what is the hat you mentioned, anything knit like socks or stocking hats are very dangerous to gliders. They can lose fingers, legs or their life if they get wrapped up in the threads.

I am glad your glider is going to be ok.

I just... don't have words... I'm glad your glider is going to be okay, and be sure to keep a close eye on him.

I would stick to only putting things in your cage that are glider safe and made by a reputable vendor.

Stuff like this is why it is important to do plenty of research before you (general you) get gliders, and why you (general again) should ask questions about anything you're not sure of.

I'm keeping a super close eye on him and giving him medicine. He seems to be doing fine. He's more active and eating fine. Thank you for all of your advice. I'm looking for sleeping pouches and toys that are better suited for him. I've always looked up information for sugar gliders before making a purchase but I'll be more careful from now on.

My daughter said she'd be happy to make him a pouch but thing is, the pattern is shoes... Don't want to give the little man nightmares. We can probably find another pattern. Just let me know by pm.

quote:

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Originally posted by Papalotte

I'm keeping a super close eye on him and giving him medicine. He seems to be doing fine. He's more active and eating fine. Thank you for all of your advice. I'm looking for sleeping pouches and toys that are better suited for him. I've always looked up information for sugar gliders before making a purchase but I'll be more careful from now on.

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Georgia sugar glider group

rescue in georgia, hope this helps!


This links can help you find a friend, safe vendors and other vets.