Why do my gliders hiss at eachother when they are in the same pouch?

If they're not hungry, trapped, or fighting and they're already bonded to each other, they're probably just complaining: "Hey, quit stepping on my face!" or "Get your cold toes out of my ear!" :) Two of my gliders grew up together, and they still do this when they're trying to settle in.

By all means, please go ahead and check to make sure that they're not tangled in anything or in trouble otherwise, but if what you're hearing is just a short "pssst" sound and they look up at you sleepily when you peek in the pouch, they were probably just changing up their sleeping positions. :)

Welcome to sugarglider.com by the way! :) There's lots of great info on here, so don't be shy looking around and asking questions. ;)

Yup exactly what drummerrip said! My two make a lot of hissing sounds in their pouch when sleeping. Its usually the "get off of my face" or "its my turn to sleep on the bottom"

So I don't have too much to worry about because they do it a lot maybe once every 2 minutes.. And every once and a while it will be a very feisty psssst! Like they are pissed.

And they also do it when they aren't in the pouch but honestly I think they are playing because they eat together and chase eachother around and groom eachother

When I first put my two gliders in the same cage together they did that. I stayed around to separate them if it happened a lot. They did it a lot in the pouch when they were awake for the night and getting used to each other. I would keep an eye out on them and make sure they arent fighting but they should be okay.

Have they been introduced on neutral grounds first? That helps them better know each other so they stop annoying the other.

Well I mean they have been introduced to eachother a lot but never sleep in the same cage.. And I'm really scared now because hammy my youngest starts to hiss not do the pssst sound but hiss when gizmo my oldest joins him in the pouch

I had to seperate them they were hissing and making that psssst sound and it's just very scary because I don't want them to hurt eachother

I know that feeling! My two did that for the first few days they were together. Have they ever slept in the same pouch? What I did to get the used to each other was in the middle of the day I would get both of them into a bonding pouch and hold the two pouches side by side. And usually one of them will smell the other and climb into the pouch with the other.

This is more controlled. You keep both pouches on you so if they get going you can separate them. And with it during their sleeping time they are more likely to get along and sleep together. That is just what worked with my two.

I also ended up after 2 weeks of doing that just letting them stay in the cage (they were sleeping perfectly in a pouch together) and they still made the hissing and psst sound. It was scary the first few nights but I found that my two were grooming and also telling the other "hey stop not there" so just watch.

Thats what I did im sure others have done different things. But for me leaving them in together and just intervine if they get too rough. They will learn to get along with each other.

I had to seperate them they were hissing and making that psssst sound and it's just very scary because I don't want them to hurt eachother

They will sleep in the same pouch for a little bit but then go crazy again! I have no clue what to do but I will try the boding pouch thing, I have their cages side by side right now hopefully that will help

Also hammy likes to bark once just one bark then gizmo will hiss twice back? I have no idea what they are doing.

Also hammy likes to bark once just one bark then gizmo will hiss twice back? I have no idea what they are doing.

So I'm pretty sure they just started fighting in the pouch together because they we're going crazy like a mixture of crabbing and hissing and noises I've never head before... But they always want to come back and fight and mess with eachother, that was around 6:45 it's 7:07 right now and they are sleeping together in the same pouch........... I don't understand. These little creatures are insane. But please help I am so confused on what to do

OK, lets take a step back here and get a bit more information on your gliders.

I am guessing you have a male and a female. HOW OLD ARE THESE GLIDERS?

I the male intact?

The hiss followed by a short bark is something gliders do to call out to each other. That seems to be very normal.

The "fighting" in the pouch may actually be MATING BEHAVIOR - whether or not your male is neutered, he will try to mate with the female when she is in heat monthly.

When you say you had to separate the - are you putting them in separate cages? or just taking one out of the pouch until they calm down?

Constantly putting them together then separating them into separate cages could be very stressful for them. If they are not actually balling up and fighting then they are probably just working out who is the dominant glider in the cage. You need to keep an eye on them and check for injuries but they will eventually settle things between themselves.

If you have not taken them for a well check up - do so immediately. You need to make sure both are healthy and that there are no parasite issues that one may have shared with the other. If either has parasites - you will need to medicate both.

If the male is intact - have him neutered ASAP. This will calm down the fighting and in general may calm the male down. It will also reduce his scent. Intact males can get very smelly.

If you have an intact male and female pair - You may already have joeys on the way.

You may want to read the information on breeding and raising joeys as well to prepare your self it this is the case.

www.suzsugargliders.com/educationalarticles.htm

Does the 'fighting' seem to be related to the food dish? Be sure to put the food in several dishes and in separate locations in the cage so one glider cannot keep the other from eating.

Try adding or changing the toys in the cage as a distraction. Small toys like monkeys (barrel of monkeys game) toy soldiers, plastic bracelets or even just plain straws put on the top of the cage will keep them busy and entertained at night. They will pull things into the cage to play with and carry around. You may even find toys in their sleeping pouch each morning. A "ball pit" basket with small plastic golf balls, ping pong balls or large craft pom poms can also be entertaining for gliders. Toss a few treats in the ball pit for them to hunt for.

Actually I have 2 males one is about 14 months(gizmo) and the other is 7 months(hammy) and both have not been neutered. They fight or looks to me like biting eachother but they don't have any marks or anything wrong with them. The do it in the pouches and anywhere really around the cage.. I have also put food all over the cage so they can't really fight for the food. And I would get them nuetered but I just don't know any vets in Ormond Beach Florida that do that kind of stuff

Pet Street Vet Care Center
299 W. Granada Blvd. Ste. B
Ormond Beach, FL 32174 phone(386) 265-4444

I'm not sure if this place is still open or if they currently have knowledgeable exotic vets but wouldn't hurt to call and find out, if you look up top under Resources, click Vets then click on the map to pull up vets in your area.

Sounds to me like hammy has "grown up" and come into maturity. Two mature intact males are likely to fight more, I would get both fixed asap.

They are posturing for the "Top glider" position. They are territorial critters so both are fighting for what they feel is theirs. They are probably marking everything in sight, trying to claim whats "His" then the other comes along and thinks it should be "his".

Look okay it makes sense now, do you think they will hurt eachother though?? Is it safe for me to go to sleep and wake up in the morning relaxed?

Look okay it makes sense now, do you think they will hurt eachother though?? Is it safe for me to go to sleep and wake up in the morning relaxed?

I would wait and get them neutered before leaving them in a cage together. that way their testosterone goes down they mellow out and (usually) become more friendly.

This should help with the cage situation. Neuter first and then try introducing again inside the cage a few days after they are neutered.

I think that would be the best way to go.

If they are housed together and not balling up and fighting or causing dominance wounds on one another... I would leave them together and have them both neutered at the same time.

When the neutering is done, I like to keep the gliders on me in a bonding or their sleeping pouch, (they are coming out of sedation and pretty sleepy the rest rest of the day)until about an hour or two before they get up for dinner and play time. Then I place them/ their pouch back in their cage and have their dinner ready for when they wake up. Keep in mind they may have cones on and it may be harder for them to eat from a small dish, so a big plate or shallow saucer with the food around the edges will help.

Both will probably be prescribed antibiotics and pain meds for a few days afterwards too, so it's usually easier to have them on the same schedule.