I have a problem. I think one of my gliders is hurting herself. I have had gliders for 3 years. I have seven of them. The one I am concerned about I rescued on Jan 1st of last year. She was a lone glider. She will have absolutely nothing to do with the other gliders or me.

In the last week or so she has been staying in her pouch mostly. Tonite I noticed something odd. It was like she was fighting with something in her pouch. She kept on and on with it so I put my hand in her pouch, getting bit all the while and was able to calm her down a bit and able to check her out. Her tail is crooked and feels like it has bites on it.

I have read about this before but now that I am in this situation I still dont know what to do. There are 6 other gliders that she could have bonded with in the last year and she will not have nothing to do with them.

Any suggestions? I dont believe she is in need of a vet at the moment as she is still playing and eating. No blood shed or anything but I dont have a clue what to do with this glider.

I have another one that is a bit of a loner but she is open to one of the other ones in her cage now and then and she will timidly play with me sometimes. Bam Bam (thats her name) is a totally different story.

Just wanted to add. This one has been a little nutty since day one. I guess crazy can run in gliders too.

I'm at a loss as to what to recommend here if this glider refuses to bond with any of your seven other gliders. To be honest, I've never heard of a glider refusing to bond to SOMEONE. Even though there may be some gliders they don't want anything to do with, usually they will bond with another glider just fine. You have seven to pick from, yet none of them are apparently good enough. How odd.

What have you done to try to bond with her? Have you tried the bonding pouch, or simply letting her sleep between shirt layers on you during the day? Maybe if she could at least bond to you it would help with her overgrooming. I know she is a difficult glider and that it would probably take a huge commitment from you (three or four hours a day at least) but I really don't know of anything else you could do, other than finding her another situation with someone who might have better luck with her or a glider she might like.

And what do you mean by nutty behavior? It could simply be that she's semi-feral from lack of contact. Although, with the issues of inbreeding going on with gliders, It is possible that if she really is nutty, then that might be why.

Here is the SM site:

http://sm.all4gliders.com/

They have a clip of the sound they make too. Is that the same thing you heard?

the sound page isnt working but from what they describe it sounds like it. I saw someone write about it before and they said it was a horrible sound and its not horrible but it is odd. She crabs and then gives a little whine all the while squirming around in her pouch.

I would think the other one that is in a cage by herself would be more feral because when I got her about the same time her owner told be she was not freindly because she had not been handled and i am making a lot of progress with her.

Bam Bam was only a few months old when I got her. I am pretty sure her previous owner played with her. She is just strange.

I would take her in for a vet visit. From what you're describing, this could turn serious quickly. If her tail is "crooked", it could have been injured. Gliders can cause a lot of damage in a very short time once they begin to sm.

one of mine self mutilated his tail too. he made a hissing noise and soft crabbing noise, i would try to prevent her from getting at her tail and definatley go to the vet. rocket damaged his enough to need surgery.

belinda if i were u i would get her to a vet im not a expert but thats the what my khloe did before she died. her tail was thin and funny lookin and she was makin funny noises and moving around alot in her pouch like she was fighting something. i went to work and came bak home and she chewed her tail off. or as wat rita would suggest a ecollar. i dont know how to make one someone else may. but thats the exact same way khloe acted before it happened to her. and she was a loner she stayed to her self and didnt have much to do with me or my mom or my moms bf or my other glider

You need to get that glider to a vet and have x-rays, urinalysis and fecal tests for parasites run. She needs to be placed in an e-collar, and a straw on her tail if using a satelite style e-collar. She needs pain meds, medication to treat for parasites (if she has them) and medication to treat for infection. Bite marks are ALWAYS susceptible to an infection. Crooked tail could indicate a break.

It DOES sound from your description that she is making the SM sound and in the initial stages of SMing. If you do not get it treated and prevent any further damage, she could SM enough to cause her own death.

GLIDERS DO NOT SM SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE ALONE. They SM because they are in distress and/or pain. for SOME gliders, lonliness can cause significant distress, resulting in SM, but for most gliders, lonliness causes a whole host of OTHER health related problems. SMing should ALWAYS be taken very seriously and should ALWAYS be treated by a vet. Finding her a friend right now is not the most pressing concern. Finding her a vet with knowledge and experience IS.

Her level of bonding to you or to other gliders has absolutely no bearing on whether or not she deserves excellent health care - by a vet and by you after the vet visit. Rescuers treat difficult gliders for injury and illness all the time. It is much easier than dealing with the guilt and regret of loosing a glider because you didn't get it treated early enough. Just because she is eating and playing does NOT mean she is not in pain or discomfort. Please have her treated ASAP.

You are more than welcome to call me if you would like experienced advice or encouragement - esp. in regards to after-care and prevention. A vet visit is not an option, it is necessary for this little one.
Val 806-274-9177

Ditto.

I took her to the vet. My animals always go to the vet when they need it. I have a great vet that have done the neuters on my boys. He fixed one up when his weenie got stuck out and has done the wellness checks and nail trimming (I cant quite do that). I had a feeling that she might be doing the SM thing I just had to get everyones opinion. Even if no one answered I would have taken her anyway. I am a little goofy that way about all 7 of my gliders. I have been known to go a little overboard.

She has a pus pocket and he put her on pain meds and antibiotics. She has been messing with the wound but he said it looks clean. The fur on her tail looks good so he says that blood is circulating through her tail. He says to watch it and make sure the hair doesnt start falling out or if there is any blackening to bring her back in but he thinks the antibiotics should clear it up. It's funny but my vet says he usually sees this sort of thing from gliders that are not alone that's not what I have heard from most of the people posting about this. He thinks what usually happens is another glider hurts them and then the glider starts picking at the wound. He recommended not putting a bandage or anything on the wound. His opinion was that she would just tear it off. I tend to agree and think that would just give her more distress.

Thanks for the input everybody. Wish me luck giving her the meds. She did good today, she seemed to like it. One thing is for sure about this situation, she will either hate me more or bond with me. I am hoping for the latter.

Maybe she got it stuck on something in the cage and cut herself? Either way, I hope for the latter for you toooo!

Thanks you. I will look around a little more for that. I thought about that after the vet said it was in his experience because of another glider. Who knows maybe she had her tail sticking out of the cage and another glider scratched her. Their claws where getting a little long. I just got new trim tracks put on their wheels last weekend.

Good, Belinda. I'm glad it's something tangible and easy to treat. Best wishes with the meds, Shikoni liked his the first couple of days and then he just hated it. But at least he didn't transfer that ill will to me.

Just make sure she doesn't mess with it too much. Make sure you have an e-collar on handy just in case. Please update when possible. =)

Belinda, thank God your vet was able to diagnose the problem. So many times when gliders self-mutilate, we dont really know why. Hopefully, when her tail is all healed and doesnt bother her anymore, she will stop.

In the meantime, like others have said, have an e-collar ready.

Belinda, I am so glad that you were able to get your little one in to the vet. I hope she's on the road to recovery now!