Death2Life Joey 23 Posts
Here is the background on my situation. About 12 days ago I got a female glider a little less than 2 years old. I don't know how bonded she was with her former owner, but I know she wasn't abused or neglected. I have found these techniques and am using them: My shirt is over the top of her cage. She spends 2-3 hours every day in a bonding pouch around my neck. I have a small fleece that smells like me in her hammock bed. I don't pick her up bare handed, only with a fleece between my hands and her. We are making some progress. We have went from her crabbing and biting me endlessly the first couple days to now I can always pet her and she will always eat out of my hand. However, we are far from being bonded. She doesn't want to be held and she doesn't volunteer to be near me. In other words, I can stick my hand in her cage or bonding pouch and pet her, rub her belly, etc., but the only way she will come towards me is if I have a treat for her. She will take the treat and then run away with it as fast as she can. Now here is the problem and the reason for this post. I am a college student and live in a very small dorm room that is cluttered with lots of stuff. Naturally because we have such a small room my roommate and I have stuff everywhere. I know I am at the point in the bonding process where we need to be in a tent together, but I do not have a tent or a place to set one up if I did. I also don't have a good place for us to be alone together and her still be in a controlled environment. There is one safe room that we can go in, but it is large - about 10' X 20'. When I put her in the room she just runs and climbs anywhere she can and pays no attention to me. I feel like I am at a stand still in the bonding process, because I don't have a good small place for us to be alone together. Is there any way we can work around my limitations? I really am attached to her and want a good bond with her but don't know how to get around this. Thanks for your help! Death2Life
BandP Super Glider 389 Posts Those are not easy circumstances. You are not the first college student I've seen post that has a glider, though. How did you come to own the glider? Does the former owner have any others? Since you only have one, it really is quite important to get another. However, I know what it is like going to college: I just graduated myself with a husband and two gliders. We live in an apartment though, and just use our bathroom. Would it be possible for your roommate to go in with you to get a tent to use in the "safe" room? Also, it took quite some time for our girls to bond to us. I know all gliders are different, but many people I've seen post carry their gliders in a bonding pouch every day, some put them in pockets for all afternoon, etc. Going to school and sometimes not even getting home until 5 pm has pretty much eliminated that possibility, but we did what we could and they are bonded to us now. Getting a tent to use in the safe space is the best idea I can think of. How do you manage her diet living in a dorm? Death2Life Joey 23 Posts BandP, The problem is the "safe" room I spoke of is really a public meeting/conference room. I can go in there, but so can the other students. There are times I can be in there alone, but to have a tent set up while in there would be awkward at best and maybe even against the rules of the school. Once she is bonded with me she will be able to get all the exercise she needs in the door room. Right now, though, I am not sure if I should turn her loose in there. Not because it is dangerous for her but because it could be counter productive trying to re-capture her from wherever she has ran and/or climbed. Plus, she will have so much to climb on I doubt she would have any interest in me anyway. Javascript:insertsmilie(' ') I got her from someone who no longer had time for her. I prepare her food in advance and freeze it. Thanks, Death2Life rustypossumfart Face Hugger USA 459 Posts First off, I think you're both doing great. You've made so much progress in just a few days! Having her not crabbing or biting you when you try to pet is a huge step. Second, it sounds like she is a lone glider. Gliders can become stress and are more distrustful when they're alone. Almost all the stories I've heard is that lone gliders show great improvement when they get another glider companion. If she is indeed a lone glider, my recommendation (and I am sure most anyone here would agree) is to get her a glider friend as soon as possible. Of course, you have to make sure to follow the proper procedure for introductions. Third, most gliders don't like to be hold. Of course, all gliders are different and there are some that don't mind this at all. The focus here is that you're trying to get them to trust you, so that they're comfortable standing on your hands, but not being held. Specially during play time, they want to go around and explore, not being hold by mommy (think of it as when you were a kid, would you rather stay under you momma's skirt, or explore around and try to get in all kind of troubles? ) As for the play room. Many folks here use bathrooms instead of tents. Just make sure that the electrical outlets are plug, the toilet seat is down, there is no way for them to escape under the door(s) or that there are small spaces that they can run off and get stuck, or any accumulations of water. Also, the size of the room really doesn't matter, there are many people that have the so called "glider rooms" which is the entirety of room all for their gliders (I am one of those). The gliders themselves may become a little more independent if they start off in these kind of rooms, but there's nothing wrong with it as long as the room have been "glider proofed" (sort of like baby proofed but some extra precautions, since they're capable of getting almost anywhere). Sorry for the long reply, but please let me repeat myself about getting her a companion. It would really improve her physical as well as her mental health (not trying to be naggy, but managing any way ) Death2Life Joey 23 Posts I guess I need to explain the companion glider issue. This is my first glider so I wanted to learn about them first with just her. Also, she has never had a companion. (She is almost 2 years old now.) I thought it made more sense to bond with her before bringing another one into the picture. Finally, I don't have a candidate to be her buddy. I don't have the money to go and buy a joey for $200 just so she can have a buddy. Remember, I am a full-time student. :-) I am certainly not opposed to her having a buddy, but I have to wait until the right buddy comes along. Thanks, Death2Life Blue Nostalgic Fuzzy Wuzzy 1422 Posts I think the majority of gliders when first bonding, out of pouch during play time, are interested in anything and everything except the owner. Don't take that part as failure or that the bonding won't ever happen. When you do decide on a way to give her a safe place to be out, have some treats on you so that when she ventures closer she knows that you are the one with the noms. Once they have investigated every part of their play area they do tend to then become more interested in what you're all about since you're always sitting there watching them. If you chose the common room, yeah, make sure it is at a time when someone won't open the door and cause a possible accident/escape. Be able to turn the lights off or very low, use a computer or something for enough light for you to be able to see her. Have some toys and things for her to explore so that she isn't so much just searching for an escape route. If you chose your dorm room. Make sure it is baby proofed! This may be difficult. They can get into the tiniest of places and if not watched you can easily lose track of them or have a lot of trouble getting them out. They can also get into things and chew on them which could be dangerous. It is possible for you to do this...if you study the room and items in it carefully. Even if she is not bonded to you now...she will have the ability to get exercise and explore, and again will eventually start checking you out. In this situation, it's best to have her sleeping pouch handy so that if you need to lure her she will hopefully go into the pouch for transport back to the cage or just out of a hiding spot. They will FREAK if you chase them. Stay calm if she takes off. Have a good sized (maybe 2x2') piece of fleece handy and watch her. Toss the fleece over her quickly and pick her up with that. She won't associate you as much as being the captor this way. Just some thoughts. I hope you're able to work something out. Death2Life Joey 23 Posts UPDATE: Yesterday, I finally found a very small area between two restrooms. It is about 5' X 5' and completely escape proof. Gizzy and I went in there last night for about an hour. She ran around exploring everything and then finally she started climbing all over me. The first time she sat on my shoulder and I could hear her breathing in my ear my heart just burst! AMAZING feeling. She ate some honey out of my hand and we played with a feather together for a few minutes. She did not stay on my body but she had no problem jumping on and off of me a bunch of times. Now that we found our little special hangout place we will continue to go there. Thanks to everyone who offered their helpful advice. I will always come back here with any questions I have. QUESTION: How long does this part of the bonding process normally last. How often should we go in there? Also, how long do you guys estimate this "tent" stage will last. I want to get her to the point where I can just let her play in my dorm room, hopefully spending most of the time on my body. Death2Life Blue Nostalgic Fuzzy Wuzzy 1422 Posts I still get goosebumps when the "whisper" in my ear! The "tent time" never really goes away. During the day she will be content to sleep on you, as many people do with pouches, etc. I prefer to let them have most of the day to sleep undisturbed and have them in our bonding pouch for and hour or two in the early evening while they are still asleep. While awake and active at night...it's play time. They aren't going to be content to just sit and chill on your body during this time. Not that she won't come back to you often to check on you and depending on the amount of time she is out she may nap, but she's going to want to be running and jumping and enjoying herself. Once you think the two of you are comfortable enough to try her in the dorm room...you'll have to remember that she will never grow out of what would be the 'toddler stage' in humans. You'll have to keep an eye on her if you aren't 100% certain that she won't escape or get into some kind of harm. Just this week a glider owner here had the horrible experience of realizing after vet visits and confusing symptoms that her glider had been getting into a hidden packet of cleaning erasers and eating/chewing on them for an extended amount of time. Unfortunately she reported that the vet thought the damage was permanent and I imagine she may not recover fully. It seems very fortunate that this glider made it through the ordeal at all. A myriad of them haven't had a second chance. Best of luck to you!
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