I'm picking up a new suggie to me & my 5 member suggies. Now, the parents, twin boys are feally laid back. Joey-girl is my biggest crabbing suggie in the bunch. I would like some advise / experience from other owners that have introduced new suggies to their families. I have some knowledge that it will be slow going. I know I have to set the cages together so the suggies can smell & touch each other. But can someone tell me about how long this may take before they will be able to get along. Now the suggie I'm getting is a older female, an at one time did have a partner. Is there anything speial I can do to make this intergation a little bit easier on all the suggies? I have bout 1 week to get all information I may need before this , little scare day will happen. Thanks to everyone.

I'd wait until all the joeys are wean or mom will be extra protective and probably try to fight.

I actually find putting the cages next to each other a bad idea, it kind of makes them look at each other as rival colonies AND if you do do it anyway (some people say do it, some people don't) then don't make them touching. Gliders can still fight through cages and Kazko had a glider get a tail bitten off through a cage.

Honestly NOBODY can tell you how long it will take for them to get along, it has taken some people one introductin and they can put them together, but more commonly it takes a few months.

When you do go to introduce them you should do it one glider at a time or they'll gang up on your new guy, and don't just dump them in a cage do it in a bathroom or something and wear gloves to seperate a fight

Also, be realistic and know that some introductions don't work and will never work.

I would also let your new guy settle in for about a week at least before you start doing any intros if all your joeys are weaned.

I also don't recommend letting them be close enough to touch. If they fight through the bars, they could still get very hurt. I totally agree with letting her settle in first. You can then take some pouches from the others' cage and put it in hers and vice versa to see how they react. Rita has great advice about introducing them in the tub so there was a lot of control over the situation. I introduced mine in a small area of a room where I was also able to have quick access if need be. Just remember that it really is always a possibility that they will not ever get along. That happens sometimes so be sure you are able to have two cages just in case.

These are my observations:

• Dont ever introduce a new adult to a colony when there are joeys present. Just a guess, but I'd wait until they are 4months.


• Dont put cages side by side, ever. I have three colonies side by side and each cage wants to kill all members of the other cages.


• Swapping pouches and such has never ever worked for me. I think it terrorizes all animals involved and the males mark it up.


• When doing introductions, dont ever do it in either cage. Animals are extremely territorial and you may have a decent introduction going but the second you put them back into the colony cage, disaster hits. Instead, Introduce in an open neutral place where you can quickly remove the newbie, then move them all to a smaller holding cage for two or three days where they are forced to socialize and share bedding and such. After a few days you can move them all back into a VERY scrubbed and clean colony cage. It always helps to move stuff around a bit too so that it is not the exact same cage that was left behind.


• With so many factors and individual personalities here, I would either not do the introduction or use a scent masking technique; ie: mouthwash, vanilla, ... If all animals smell the same, there will be less risk of one being picked out of the group to attack. Then they can cuddle in a pouch for a night or two and normalize their scents.


• Never introduce a male into a cage/colony that already has a male and any number of females. Even long time siblings will fight over a new female. The only success I have ever had with multiple males in a cage are when they are birthed into the cage or if it is male only and all are neutered.


• See journal entry for additional info

Thanks everyone for the advise & suggests. I knew that this new adventure was not going to be an easy fix. I just wanted to make sure I had all my facts straight before I picked up the new little suggie. I just don't want the new suggie to get hurt or anything like that do to my failure of knowledge. I would feel really bad if new suggie got hurt, cause the person that is giving me the little suggie was asking for someone with suggie experince. Several people replyed to the advertisment for this little suggie, an I guess the former owner decided that I would by a good home. An that is what I'm try to make sure happens. So again, thanks everyone.