My two boys are just 5 months old, but I was wondering....
Who has the oldest gliders and how old are they?
Has anybody had a glider who has died peacefully in their sleep from old age?
Also when does old age set in?
What happens when they get older?
I was also wondering....
Does their eyesight get worse with age?
and
Do they get arthritis? (Or is that just a human ailment)

Sorry about all the questions, but i'm just really intrigued

RedHotChilli

It's good that you are intrigued, that adds to your knowledge. I too am interested in answers to these questions. My kids are only 8 1/2 months oop, so hopefully it will be quite awhile before I have to face this.

I've been saying 5 months old...but that's including their in pouch time...should I be saying 3 months oop instead?
Which way do most SG owners use?
Cheers :)

I got my first boy in 1997. I had to get rid of him and all the others I had when I moved away. I need to try to track him down and see what happened to him. I have emails still but unfortunately I never did keep records of what I gave to folks then.

I believe that Kissed82 has an older sugar. Was it 11 or 13 perhaps?

I have Pican who was born around 4/30/2002. She was a single glider for all of her life until I got hold of her. She took to family life well but her previous owners fed her heavy heavy protein; mostly shrimp because she liked it. Well here it is some time later and shes huge and all she eats is protein. Its very hard to force her to eat anything else especially with her being in a colony cage. I could probably put her by herself again and feed her very carefully but I choose to let her live her remaining days her way and with her family even if she steals everyones meat. I dont expect her to be a long lived glider but she is my oldest. She will probably die from liver failure.

I used to suggest that people feed 50% protein in the diet spread but I no longer do that and the Kazko diet plan in the Gliderpedia reflects that by suggesting 25% protein. It isnt much different than the four food groups for humans really.

I wish I knew how old Weasel is. I've had her a year and was told then that she was 3+ years old. That could mean anything...

I had a glider named Mokey That died 4 weeks ago. He was 11 years old. I had him for 10 and half years. he died of liver cancer. I had him cremated. I miss him so much

Im sorry to hear that Cubby. Can you document when and where you got him and what day he died? I will make an entry for you in the death database.

He died on aug 3 2008. I got him in about 10/1997. He was about 6-10 months old then, maybe older. A lady gave him to me because she didnt want to take care of him anymore. I met her at a pet store and she then met me there the next day and gave him to me. The vet told me liver hepatic cyst were rare in gliders and Mokey had them. I didnt have to put him under. He died at home with me. He was eating untill his last night and still was happy to climb all over me albeit in a lethargic manner. he slept next to me in bed the last week he was alive and peacefully died in his sleep holding my arm. I still feel very sad. My girlfriend is also sad. We still expect him tobe scooting around the bedroom at night etc..

Oh Cubby, I'm sooo sorry. Sounds like he was very loved.

I'm sorry to hear that too Cubby
R.I.P Mokey

MY CURRENT OLDEST GLIDER IS A SPECIAL NEED GLIDER WHO IS 4 1/2 YEARS OLD. MY OTHER GLIDERS RANGE FROM 3 YEARS TO 5 MONTHS. BUT THIS WILL SOON CHANGE BECAUSE I GOT TWO BABIES ON THE WAY YEAH!!!!!!

i have a 3 1/2 and a 1 1/2 year old

No oldies year. I have had them since they were 8 and 9 wks oop. I have had them now for about 3 1/2 to 4 months. They are a blast.

I have a pair of gliders, Pepe & Penny, that I've raised since about 3 months oop. They were born in early 1997 - so 11 years old!

I have not noticed any ailments related to age yet - and I've been looking closely for that lately. They are both in absolutely excellent health. I have had to deal with a few ailments with one of them over the years, but he always pulls through. The other hasn't been sick - ever.

I hope they last several more years, they have always been a joy for me.

One problem is so many of us who have rescued or rehomed gliders dont have a clue about their age. That worries me with Weasel. I know Tilly, Tosca and Benji's ages.

Angie has one that is going on 14 years old. I'll let her give you the details when she has time. My oldest is approximately 10 and silverlinedcloud just adopted a colony of 4 we believe to be between 8 and 10 years old.

To answer some of your questions, yes, they are just like any other mammal, including humans, their bodies start to deteriorate with age. My oldest glider, Aramis, for example, is showing clasic signs of age. He has a whiskered graying look to his face, his head is flattening on top, he is gaining weight as he becomes more sedentary with the difficulties of an old man trying to climb in his pouch and around the cage. He will be here with me until he leaves this earth because he has gotten old and cranky, his eyesight is not as good as it used to be, so he tends to attack if something gives reason to defend himself or his cagemate, whether real or imagined. He is still adorably cute and I love him just the way he is.

With that being said, just like people, some do not show their age as readily. His cagemate, Hannah, is showing an older look, but she is still quite trim and a little more active than he is. She does not see as well as she used to, so she must be approached with caution, but usually she is okay when she smells that it is me.

Charlie as close as we can tell between the mother lyeing about the age when we got him and the daughter let it slip out how old he really is that he is about 14 years old.
Suggie we got in Jan 2000 so she will be 9 toward the end of the year(she has the short tail) her granddaughter is the sugar glider in the pic with her.

Maybe other people could share photos of their senior citizen gliders.
Art

You know what I find interesting, and this could totally be a coincidence? It seems like whenever I see a picture of a glider that's over, say, 10 years old, they have a different look to them. Sometimes they have a REALLY short muzzle area and their eyes seem more round, if that makes sense. I wonder if gliders have evolutionized, for a lack of better word, over the years?

Kryo, you are right. What scares me is Weasel has a very short muzzle and larger eyes, too. And I have no clue how old she is. I was told 3-plus years when I got her. Ive had her over a year. So no one really knows how old she is.

My concern would be that older gliders may have different health issues than younger ones? Anyway, it has always worried me that I dont know her age.

I don't know as my Peanut is short nosed and she isn't over ten years old only around six.
A friend of mine and I always are discussing things like this and she thinks the closer to the wild caught line the rounder the nose and the bigger the glider, not sure if I agree with that but she got her glider in 1997-1999 and they had the same body built and short nose also. She thinks the inbreeding(even grays--unknowingly) causes them to have a pointier nose. The other thing is maybe from different regions of where the gliders origionated from is the cause of different facial features. I dunno just thought I would toss it out for discussion.
Art